The most in-demand used cars sold in a little over a fortnight last year while some electric vehicles took almost eight times longer to shift, new market research has revealed.

Auto Trader - the nation's biggest second-hand car platform - measured the median duration between models being listed for sale on its website in 2024 and a buyer eventually being found.

For owners of Mercedes-Benz cars who might be considering parting ways with their luxury motors, the data suggest they could be in a very strong bargaining position.

That's because two models from the premium manufacturer topped the rankings with the shortest sale times - an average of 16 and 16.5 days respectively.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is a raft of EVs, one of which - a stylish, but expensive, Hyundai saloon - took in excess of four months to move on after being put up for sale.

We reveal the 10 motors Auto Trader says were the fastest-sellers last year, as well as the list of those that hung around longest on forecourts and driveways as businesses and private owners struggled to find a buyer at the price they wanted.

Data from UK’s largest car sales platform revealed that the Mercedes-Benz GLB hybrid was the motor snapped up in the shortest time last year.

At a median of just 16 days, owners of year-old examples of this luxury SUV generally had to wait only a fortnight between listing theirs for sale and seeing the cash appear in their bank accounts.

And to prove that it's not just SUVs - now the nation's most popular new car body type - that are in greatest demand, a more traditional Mercedes hatchback is second in the list of fastest sellers taking only half a day longer than the GLB.

The model in question is the A-Class petrol (up to a year old), the German giant's family hatch alternative to the BMW 1 Series, Ford Focus and - the nation's favourite - VW Golf.

These Mercedes' both sold almost a fortnight faster than the market-wide average for second-hand cars, which in 2024 was 30 days.

According to Auto Trader's historical data, this is two days quicker than the average sale period seen in 2023.

Richard Walker, data and insight director at the car sales platform, said: 'Despite general tight belting at the moment, car buyers were still happy to indulge in premium used cars last year. 

'Not only did Mercedes-Benz top the list, but most of 2024’s hottest used cars were pricier SUVs.'

Other quick sellers Walker references include recent versions of the Peugeot 3008 hybrid, ageing examples of the diesel Ford Kuga and nearly new petrol MG SZ SUVs, all of which sold on average in just 18 days.

Petrol Vauxhall Grandland X crossovers took 18.5 days, as did diesel Dacia Dusters and MG HS plug-in hybrids.

The quickest-selling EV last year was Mazda's MX-30 taking only 19 days to find a new owner while the battery-powered Polestar 2 changed hands just 19.5 days after first being advertised on the market.

EVs and plug-in hybrids dominate slowest-sellers list 

Despite the rapid sale times of the Mazda and Polestar, it was EVs that generally dominated the order of slowest selling cars last year. 

The one that took owners and dealers the longest to offload was the Hyundai Ioniq6.

The svelte 'streamliner', which from new costs just over £47,000, is one of the best looking, well-equipped and comprehensive EV on the market currently.

However, those trying to sell Ioniq6 EVs really struggled to find buyers, with Auto Trader's records showing an average on-sale duration of 125 days.

That's over four months being advertised before changing hands.

The second slowest used car to sell is the latest Lexus RX hybrid, which was on sale on average for 114 days in 2024.

Plug-in hybrid variants of the Citroen C5 X and Peugeot 408 - again, relatively new-to-the-market large family motors - took 110.5 and 110 days to sell respectively, which is the best part of three-and-a-half-months.

The outlier in the list of 10 slowest selling models is the ageing Bentley Continental GT sports car (models between 10 and 15 years), which, given their exclusivity, high cost and extortionate running costs, understandably took some time (100 days on average) to find a next owner.

The rest of the top 10 order is made up of plug-in hybrids and EVs, which might suggest a lacking appetite for greener vehicles.

However, that's not necessarily the case, according to Auto Trader...

EVs still sold faster than petrols and diesels

Although only making two appearances on the top 10 list of models and featuring heavily in the order of slowest sellers, a more 'granular' view of the market reveals that used EVs were in greater demand than their combustion-engine counterparts.

Auto Trader says the average electric car had a median sale duration in 2024 of just 29 days to sell, faster than both its petrol (30 days) and diesel (31 days) counterparts. 

The average EV sold four days faster in the second half of the year than in the first, the data also shows. 

An even deeper dive into Auto Trader’s data reveals that 3-to-5-year-old electric models sold at an even greater pace in 2024.

In fact, EVs of this age group took just 23 days to sell, making it the fastest segment of the whole market. 

In contrast, a petrol car of the same age, took over 29 days to sell. 

This trend has continued into 2025, Walker says.

These ‘middle-aged’ electrics in the opening two weeks of January have sold more than a week faster than the average used car. 

Conversely, ‘nearly new’ electric vehicles (up to a year old), are among the slowest selling used cars, taking an average of nearly 42 days to shift. 

‘Nearly new’ used vehicles are taking longer to sell more broadly, with the average used car aged below 12 months lingering on forecourts for 34 days.

Price and affordability are the primary cause of this disparity: according to Auto Trader’s pricing data, which is based on over 800,000 daily pricing observations across the retail market, a nearly new electric car costs on average almost double the price of a 3–5-year-old model (£37,032 vs £19,386). 

More importantly, however, the average 3–to-5-year-old electric car has largely reached price parity with a petrol (£18,345) car of the same age, and notably cheaper than a diesel (£23,400).

'We’ve entered January with real momentum, following a very positive market performance last year,' Walker explained. 

'Cars sold at a rapid pace, demand was very robust, and prices were stable. 

'But 2024 really was the year of the used EV, especially for those ‘middle-aged’ models which have become more accessible than ever, helping demand rocket over the last 12 months or so. 

'It shows that when the price is right, car buyers are more than happy to make the switch to electric.'