Auto Trader announces the best selling used cars per region and over all for 2015.

• Ford Fiesta named as fastest selling used car of 2015
• Ford Fiesta and Focus models dominated top ten lists for every region last year
• Alternative fuel vehicle features in top 10 annual list for the first time
• Nissan Qashqai sold in London in just 17 days
• Auto Trader i-Control customers enjoyed improved stock turn of over 50%

Auto Trader, the UK’s largest marketplace for new and used cars, has announced the top ten fastest selling used cars of 2015. The data, normally released monthly, shows the fastest selling used vehicles both nationally and by region, providing motor industry commentators and retailers with essential used car sales trend data.

The Ford Fiesta has been named as the UK’s fastest selling used car of 2015, taking an average of just 29 days to sell. The popular hatchback features in every regional top 10 list bar one for last year, and in most cases, multiple times.

The Vauxhall Insignia and Toyota Prius were second and third respectively, both also taking 29 days to sell. 2015 was the first time an alternative fuel vehicle has finished in the annual list, while diesel remains the most popular choice in the UK, fueling six of the top ten.

Ford was the most popular fastest selling marque, with Fiesta and Focus models appearing in every regional top ten list for 2015. The East of England was dominated by the blue oval with Fiesta models taking first, second, third, fifth and eighth position, and Focus models finishing seventh and tenth. Wales also succumbed, with the Fiesta first, second, third and seventh, and the Focus, fourth.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader Retailer & Consumer Products Director said: “2015 has been a phenomenal year for Ford, topping both the new and used car lists with its Fiesta model. The versatile and economic hatchback is likely to only increase in popularity as Ford announce plans to make their vehicles even more efficient at the Detroit motor show last week.”

The North East remained Nissan territory as the Note took first and third places, the Juke forth, and the Qashqai fifth. The Qashqai continues to be a popular choice amongst car buyers across the UK, placed sixth in the national top ten, and taking just 17 days to sell to be the fastest selling used car in London.

Vauxhall, not content with a second place finish overall, also saw their popular Corsa model appear in the top ten in nearly all regions, in most cases; more than once.

Rank	Year, make and model	Days to Sell	Price Position	Retail Price
1	2015 Ford Fiesta Hatchback Diesel Manual	29	98.03%	£11,652
2	2012 Vauxhall Insignia Hatchback Petrol Manual	29	98.92%	£7,814
3	2012 Toyota Prius Hatchback Electric Hybrid Automatic	29	99.63%	£16,194
4	2015 Kia Sportage SUV Diesel Manual	30	98.36%	£19,161
5	2012 Mercedes-Benz B Class Hatchback Diesel Automatic	30	98.59%	£14,719
6	2012 Nissan Qashqai Hatchback Petrol Automatic	30	98.64%	£13,243
7	2014 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso MPV Diesel Manual	30	99.27%	£15,530
8	2012 Volkswagen Touran MPV Diesel Automatic	30	97.86%	£12,436
9	2014 Vauxhall Mokka Hatchback Petrol Automatic	30	98.52%	£14,843
10	2012 BMW X3 SUV Diesel Automatic	31	99.63%	£24,339

Auto Trader customers who use the i-Control data intelligence tool took, on average, less than half the time to sell stock. The tool supports retailers with, improving their stock turn, optimising margin as well as helping to save time in decision making, by giving retailers an idea of which cars are desirable in their region and are therefore quick to sell. 

i-Control has been designed to allow used car retailers to take advantage of the market’s most lucrative opportunities to sell more cars, by putting retailers in control of all the relevant data on every piece of used car stock; including unique consumer demand/ desirability - and accurate daily retail and trade prices, for optimising margin and stock turn. 

Since i-Control was introduced 18 months ago, the average monthly stock turn of those who actively use the tool was just 29 days, compared to an average of 67 days for those who do not.

“The reduction in stock turn for retailers using i-Control is an extremely positive result,"said Karolina Edwards-Smajda. “The i-Control tool has proven itself incredibly popular with Auto Trader customers, with many now relying on the data analysis system to source locally desirable stock and price it to the live market which in turn, has helped them to turn their forecourt twice as fast as the rest of the market.”

Hyundai is going great guns with the European produce Tucson SUV, and this latest model is definitely great.

• All-New Tucson becomes fastest-selling Hyundai car in the UK and across Europe since launch
• Over 10,000 in the UK and over 85,000 orders in Europe for Tucson keep Czech plant at full capacity
• More than 700,000 SUV models produced at Nošovice factory

The All-New Tucson has become the fastest-selling Hyundai car in the UK and across Europe since its market launch in September this year. With over 10,000 orders in the UK and 85,000 orders in Europe, the new compact SUV contributes to Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech (HMMC) factory continuing to operate at full capacity.

Since the production start of the Hyundai ix35 in June 2011, more than 700,000 C-SUVs have left the Czech plant, including the All-New Tucson – making C-SUVs the major contributor to the success of the factory.

Tony Whitehorn, President & CEO, Hyundai Motor UK said: “The All-New Tucson has now overtaken the award-winning i10 as the fastest-selling Hyundai model launch in the UK.  

Launched in September this year, we have taken over 10,000 orders in the UK alone and the best-selling model is the 1.7-litre SE Nav with over 34% of the total number. 

Like the Tucson, 90% of our cars sold in Europe are designed, developed, and manufactured in the region ensuring products that meet the needs of our discerning customers. Our Czech plant plays a key role in our business enabling us to fulfil high demand.”

Recently, HMMC celebrated its 7^th anniversary of mass-production which started in November 2008 with the first-generation Hyundai i30. More than 1.8 million cars have been produced, while also exporting to more than 60 markets around the world.

The factory has capacity to produce 300,000 cars and 600,000 transmissions a year. It is also an important employer in the region, with 3,400 workers employed directly, out of which 97 % are citizens of the Czech Republic, and a further 7,000 jobs created in the surrounding area.

The high demand of European-focused products, starting with the Hyundai i30 in 2008 to the most recent All-New Tucson has driven the Czech plant to run at full capacity ever since its first ramp-up, even during the economic downturn.

Together with the 200,000 units of capacity at its Turkish plant, Hyundai Motor has annual production capacity of 500,000 cars primarily for European customers.

Ten facts about state-of-the-art car production at HMMC

1. Over 1.8 million cars have been produced at HMMC since November 2008
2. Over 700,000 compact SUVs have been produced at HMMC since June 2011
3. Mass-production started in November 2008 with a Hyundai i30
4. Annual production capacity is 300,000 cars and 600,000 transmissions
5. A cross-functional team of 80 engineers adapted the production line to introduce All-New Tucson
6. Total car production process takes 21 hours, nine of which are spent in the paint shop - mainly due to drying time
7. Three different models –Tucson, i30, ix20 – are produced on the same production line
8. Each car body structure consists of 17 individual panels stamped from 0.7 mm-thick sheet steel
9. Over 400 industrial robots are installed at HMMC, including 300 in the welding shop
10. A dynamic test of all cars is conducted on the 3.3 km long track on site

Octobers second hand car sales shows the fastest selling car in the UK is the 2010 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso.

• 2010 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso diesel auto was the fastest selling car nationally
• 2014 Fiat 500 petrol was the fastest seller in the East Midlands and in Scotland
• 2013 Toyota Aygo petrol was the fastest seller in the South East and in the North West
• 2012 Volkswagen Golf diesel was the fastest seller in London and in East England

The fastest selling used car in the month following the autumn plate-change was a Citroen diesel. The Grand C4 Picasso MPV automatic sold in an average of 19 days across the UK, according to latest data collated by Auto Trader, the country’s largest marketplace for new and used cars.

Fastest selling cars in October 2015

Rank	Year, make and model	Days to sell	Price position	Retail price
1	2010 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso diesel auto	19	97.17%	£6,999
2	2013 Toyota Aygo petrol semi-auto	19	97.99%	£6,342
3	2013 Vauxhall Astra Coupe petrol	19	99.74%	£17,177
4	2012 Chevrolet Orlando petrol auto	19	98.36%	£7,930
5	2012 Audi A5 diesel auto	20	97.30%	£18,401
6	2013 Dacia Sandero petrol	20	99.87%	£5,354
7	2012 BMW 3 Series petrol auto	22	98.61%	£17,549
8	2011 Hyundai Santa Fe diesel auto	22	97.63%	£13,485
9	2010 Toyota Yaris petrol auto	23	98.73%	£5,667
10	2012 Toyota Aygo petrol semi-auto	23	99.87%	£5,940

“The fastest seller figures are reported by Auto Trader on a monthly basis, and I am sure the data for October will be of particular interest to motor industry commentators and retailers alike,” said Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader Director Retailer & Consumer Products. 

“It is still very early days to assess what impact the VW Group emissions scandal may have had on the market. Despite not featuring in this month’s Top 10, speed of sale and market prices of the majority of VW models has not been noticeably impacted throughout October, and we are yet to see any changes in consumer demand. 

It’s been exactly a month since the Volkswagen Sharan topped the national fastest sellers list in September, so we will continue to monitor developments and trends closely over the coming months”.

October showed another strong month for i-Control customers, with an average of 27 days to turn stock against a 63 day average reported for the whole market. Utilizing regional market data and daily movements to support retailers in their stock management decisions - including buying and pricing to the live market – iControl customers also beat the performance for October year-on-year.

“What we can underline with our fastest selling results is the continuing importance of transparency in all areas of the new and used car markets,”Karolina Edwards-Smajda added. 

“For example our pricing data tells us that none of the top ten fastest sellers nationally in October sold for more than their optimum price point, according to Auto Trader’s comprehensive data on valuations. 

That may be the early signs of a softening of the market as the festive season approaches but dealers in the South, the South East and the South West can be reassured as values remain robust.”

Auto Trader publishes top ten lists for fastest selling cars every month. At least 30 sales of each make and model variant must be made to qualify for inclusion in the charts.