Trade buyer interest for hybrids and EVs jumped by 65% in 2024

Trade-to-trade sales for hybrids and electric vehicles jumped by 64.9% year-on-year in 2024, according to new figures from Dealer Auction.

The digital wholesale market place’s annual round-up EV Performance Review (EVPR) shows the shift in consumer interest in alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFV).

The platform saw 51,259 bids received on AFVs and 204,058 ad views – year-on-year increases of 25.83% and 16.6% respectively.

Although AFVs still represent a small proportion of the market – 5.6% on the Dealer Auction platform – the data illustrates that more and more dealers are keen to tap into the profit potential of these models.

In fact, the proportion of electric vehicle sales doubled from 0.43% to 0.88% in 2024, while the proportion of hybrids increased from 2.96% to 4.72%. Meanwhile, the proportion of diesel models fell by 4.16% during 2024.

Kieran TeeBoon, Dealer Auction’s marketplace director, said: “The remarkable 64.9% jump in trade-to-trade AFV sales underscores the shift in consumer demand toward hybrid and electric vehicles, showing the opportunities for dealers in 2025.

“This annual round-up is an indicator of long-term trends, with various models commanding a strong CAP performance and potential margins.”

TeeBoon said stock-savvy dealers should keep a close eye on monthly data to keep on top of AFV trends.

He added: “Overall, 2024 has been a strong year for the used AFV market, reflecting the growing appetite for greener, more sustainable options in the marketplace.

“With SMMT recently announcing that new EVs took a record annual volume and market share at 19.6% – up by more than a fifth from 2023 – it will be interesting to see how this could filter into the used market in 2025.”

Average retail margins unchanged in 2024

The age and mileage of the AFVs increased slightly in 2024: the average age increased by 3% to 4.3 years old, while the average mileage increased by 11% to 38,103.

Although, notably in December 2024, the average age fell to 3.1 years, showing the importance of looking at the most recent data as well as broader trends.

While the average retail margin for AFVs remained broadly unchanged from 2023 (falling by 2.2% to £2,870), this is indicative of the wider UK cost of living crisis and the impact on the automotive industry as a whole.

Homing in on the top performing trade-to-trade models of 2024 on the Dealer Auction platform, hybrids continued to dominate the AFV market – occupying all the spots in the top 10 vehicles by CAP performance and top 10 by average gross margin, and 90% of the top 10 by volume sold. Indeed, the Nissan Leaf is the only EV to feature anywhere in the rankings – remaining one of the best-selling electric cars on the UK market.

The hybrid dominance will come as no surprise to followers of the EVPR, who will have observed hybrids often occupying the monthly top positions during 2024. It suggests that hybrids will continue to outperform EVs for some time to come.

The hybrid Lexus RX took first place for average gross margin, offering dealers a potential margin of £3,525.

But with the exception of this model, mainstream brands were the ones to watch for profit potential, making up 90% of the top 10 – including the Hyundai Tucson coming in second place (£3,415) and the Toyota RAV4 in third (£3,058). Indeed, five Toyota models made the list.

Proving its popularity once more, the best-selling used AFV of 2024 was the Hyundai Tucson (pictured above), followed by the Toyota Yaris and Mitsubishi Outlander – the latter also being the fastest seller of the top 10, selling in 34.7 days on average.

When it came to CAP performance in 2024, Toyota reigned supreme, taking the top three spots and commanding 50% of the top 10 overall. The top spot was claimed by the Auris, with a CAP performance of 102.2%, followed by the RAV4 (102.1%) and C-HR (101.4%).

Top 10 average assumed gross margin in 2024