KIA SPORTAGE IS FASTEST SELLING USED CAR IN MARCH 2016

• Kia Sportage shoots off the forecourts quickest in March
• The Korean-built SUV proves to be the UK's first, second and fourth quickest car to find a buyer
• Volkswagen's Passat estate still remains a rapid seller as the fifth quickest to sell
• UK's fastest selling cars represent a mix of body styles including SUVs, city cars and people carriers
• Top five cars to sprint out of London showrooms are all BMWs
• i-Control users enjoy better than 60% improvement on stock turn

The Kia Sportage proved to be a real hot choice for buyers as it rocketed off the UK's forecourts faster than any other model in March 2016.

The 2015 Kia Sportage petrol, with manual transmission, took a just 13 days to sell in March 2016. Hot on its heels is the 2013 model year Kia Sportage, again in manual petrol form. The second fastest selling used car in Britain took just 18 days from going on a dealer's stock list to finding a new home with a buyer.

The Korean company provides a seven-year warranty on all its new cars, and it helps provide peace of mind to buyers. It means that even on a 2013 model buyers secure four years of the manufacturers' warranty and also helps explain the Kia Sportage's appeal with used car buyers.

Crossovers are increasingly proving to be one of the most popular body styles with consumers so it's no surprise the Sportage is joined by the similar-sized Hyundai ix35 (UK's eighth fastest seller) and the premium offering from BMW in the shape of the X1 (ninth fastest seller), with both models taking just 22 days to sell.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader Retailer & Consumer Products Director said: “It's clear that the Kia Sportage is a big hit with used car buyers and it's not surprising given how popular the new one is. When Kia launched an all-new version of the model at the beginning of this year it ranked ninth in the top 10 best-selling new cars in February and secured record orders, pushing Kia to a record new car market share of 3.46% in February. Clearly it's had a knock-on effect on used models too.

“The Ford Fiesta is in-demand across the regions too. That's no surprise given it's been the number one best-selling new car for the past seven years and is currently the best-selling new car in 2016 too.”

Stephen Kitson, Communications Director, Kia UK added: “The Kia Sportage is the car every dealer wants to put on their forecourt thanks to a turnaround time that is half that of any other car. The Sportage has been the most in demand approved used car in the network and we know it has been a great success in the past year. We expect this to continue thanks to the outstanding success of the new Kia Sportage”.

It's clear that London car buyers love their premium wheels, and in particular ones with a BMW badge on it. Completing a remarkable top five sweep of the fastest cars to sell in London, the German marque dominate the sales chart for being the quickest to sell.

BMW's 2013 5 Series diesel automatic took just 17 days to secure a sale followed by its smaller sibling the 2012 3 Series in diesel auto form taking just two more days to sell. Stepping down in size again, BMW's 1 Series premium hatchback takes the next three quickest seller spots and there's a total of seven BMWs in London's top 10 fastest sellers.

Another model performing strongly across the regions is the Ford Fiesta. It proved to be the first, second, seventh and tenth quickest seller in the East Midlands, as well as second and third in the North East, and it was first, fourth and seventh in Northern Ireland. In total, the Ford Fiesta appeared in eight of the region's top 10 quickest selling cars.

Auto Trader's forecourt management tool, i-Control, continues to give retailers a 60% improvement in stock turn, with those using the tool turning stock within 24 days on average in March, compared to a whole market average of 65 days. That means retailers using i-Control are turning stock nearly two-thirds faster than those without the tool.

i-Control tracks live market movements, recommends what stock to buy, where to find it, how much to pay for it, and how much to sell it for taking into account regional differences in supply and demand – and is proven to improve stock turn by over 60%.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda said: “Consumers are more informed than ever and know when a car is not priced right, so retailers should price their stock in line with the live market, and regularly re-price it to ensure a quick and profitable sale. Our data shows that more than half the stock advertised on Auto Trader isn't optimally priced, so retailers aren't maximising response from potential car buyers negatively impacting their speed of sale.”

Using a combination of daily guide prices from over 4,500 dealer websites, the 500,000+ ads on autotrader.co.uk and price data from all major auctions, fleet & lease companies and manufacturers, i-Control provides accurate valuations ensuring retailers' stock is competitively priced from day one.

ENDS