Trade-to-trade sales of alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) on the Dealer Auction platform jumped by 64.9% in 2024.

The data shows more dealers are keen to tap into the profit potential of AFVs

The digital marketplace also saw 51,259 bids received on AFVs and 204,058 ad views – year-on-year increases of 25.83% and 16.6% respectively – further demonstrating the increasing interest in hybrid and electric vehicles

The figures have been revealed in the annual round-up of Dealer Auction’s EV Performance Review (EVPR).

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 hybrid increased from 2.96% to 4.72%. At the same time, the proportion of diesel models fell by 4.16% during 2024.

Kieran TeeBoon, Dealer Auction’s marketplace director, said: “The EV Performance Review continues to yield intriguing insights about an evolving used market. The data shows strong stats for used AFVs in 2024 versus those traded between dealers 12 months ago.

“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.”

Proving its popularity once more, the best-selling used AFV of 2024 was the Hyundai Tucson, 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%).

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

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. The Nissan Leaf is the only EV to feature anywhere in the rankings

Hybrids frequently occupied the monthly top positions in Dealer Auction’s EV Performance Review during 2024, suggesting they will continue to outperform EVs for some time to come.

TeeBoon concluded: “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 the 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.”