The fastest-selling, most popular cars of 2023
2023 was a strong year for our industry with both new and used car transactions growing throughout last year. Demand remained strong on Auto Trader with over two billion advert views on our platform throughout 2023. But what were car buyers looking at last year and what vehicles flew off forecourts in 2023?
ICE still top, but AFVs on the rise
Petrol continues to be the fuel type of choice for car-buyers with 53% of all advert views on our platform being for a petrol vehicle. Demand also remains strong for diesel vehicles although we have seen demand for this fuel type decline particularly when looking at new.
Interest in alternatively fuelled rose through 2023 vehicles with over 10% of advert views for a hybrid or full electric vehicle. Electric accounted for 4% of all advert views on our marketplace with used EVs seeing a surge in interest throughout the year as falling prices enticed more cost-conscious consumers to EVs.
But whilst ICE may still be the dominant fuel type in terms of advert views, it is EVs that are flying off UK forecourts with EVs, which were the slowest selling of any fuel type at the start of the year, being the fastest selling of any fuel type in the final four months of 2023. However, there are variations by age with newer EV stock (under one year old) selling on average slower than ICE vehicles of the same age. But with the appetite for used EVs remaining strong, we can expect this trend to continue into 2024.
SUVs shoot off forecourts
SUVs continue to soar off forecourts with the fastest-selling car of 2023 being the Ford Kuga, with a further six SUV stable mates joining the Kuga on our fastest-selling cars list of 2023.
But whilst the petrol-powered Ford Kuga claims the title of fastest-selling used car of 2023, it is AFVs that dominate our list of the fastest-selling used cars with six of the top ten fastest-selling cars of 2023 being either hybrid or fully electric.
The list is also almost entirely made up of cars under five years old with this age bracket being lower in supply, owing to the dearth of new car sales in the pandemic years, seeing consumers snap up these vehicles at record speed.
Hatchbacks on a high as consumers look at more affordable options
The BMW 1 Series was the most popular new car on our marketplace in 2023. The top three most popular new cars on our platform were all hatchbacks with the most popular used car of 2023 also being the venerable Volkswagen Golf Hatchback.
In contrast to the fastest-selling cars of 2023, last year saw consumers looking at more affordable options when it comes to used cars with the entirety of our top ten most viewed used cars being made up of cars more than five years old. This move to more affordable options will likely continue through 2024 as we continue to see the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
Most popular new cars on Auto Trader in 2023
Most popular used cars on Auto Trader in 2023
We’ve also seen consumers flock to affordable EV options with the most popular new EV of 2023 being the budget-friendly MG4. Of note on this year’s list is the absence of any new players on the market with both GWM ORA and BYD missing out on the most popular new EV list as consumers are drawn to more recognisable brands.
The Tesla Model 3 was the most popular used EV on our platform with the used EV price drops of the last year making the Model 3 one of the most affordable premium EVs available on the used market. Many of this year's most popular used EVs were from premium brands such as Porsche, Polestar, Audi and Jaguar, with prices for these used premium EVs now reaching parity with ICE equivalents. With many used EVs now offering cheaper running costs and a cheaper upfront cost than ICE equivalents, we can expect to see demand remain strong in the year ahead.
