VW Golf revealed as the most popular car to sell on Motorway’s used car platform during pandemic

Motorway Used Carometer reveals the top 20 most sold and most expensive cars sold across UK in the last year 

  • The top selling used electric car was the Nissan Leaf
  • A Lamborghini Huracan from Surrey was the most expensive used car sold during pandemic, for £172,250
  • The Volkswagen Golf came out as the most popular car to sell in London, Leeds and Edinburgh
  • The most expensive used electric car was the Tesla Model X
  • An Abarth 695C was revealed as the rarest used car to be sold in the UK

It’s official – Volkswagen Golf was the UK’s most-sold used car during the pandemic, revealed by Motorway, the UK’s fastest-growing online marketplace for used cars.  

Motorway analysed all the cars sold on its platform during the pandemic, between March 2020 and February 2021, and found that more people have sold a Volkswagen Golf on the platform than any other model of car in the last year. It was closely followed by the Ford Fiesta and the MINI Cooper, proving UK drivers love selling things in small packages. The Volkswagen Golf also came top in London, Leeds and Edinburgh in the last year. 

vw golf car
The VW Golf, the much-loved compact car that’s ever-popular to both buy and sell

Best electric dreams

With the steady rise in popularity of electric cars, UK drivers are spoiled for choice when choosing which EV to go for – from Tesla to Renault, there’s an EV for all tastes and budgets. But the Nissan Leaf took first place in Motorway’s Used Carometer with more of this model being sold online than any other electric car in the last 12 months. 

With EVs surging in popularity, Motorway also saw major growth in the selling of both petrol and diesel vehicles, with Land Rover featuring high on the most sold list, with popular models taking 9th and 11th place, implying the government’s changing legislation on fuel has got some people reconsidering their ownership of premium fossil fuel used cars. 

Most expensive motors

The UK’s most expensive used car in the Motorway Carometer was a Lamborghini Huracan, located North of the Surrey Hills, which sold for £172,250.  Three more Lamborghinis featured in the top five, hailing from Essex, Cardiff and Hull. While the rest of the top 20 most expensive cars featured brands most would expect like Porsche, Land Rover, Bentley and Mercedes, there was one Tesla Model X that went for over £80k, demonstrating a good resale value for this type of electric car. 

Tom Leathes, CEO of Motorway, said:

“While sales of new cars continue to fall and consumers have avoided public transport to stay safe, the used car market has seen incredible growth over the past year. Our data shows which cars have proved to be the most popular to sell this year.  

“Cars like the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Fiesta and Mini Cooper are consumer favourites and really hold their value in the used car market, with lots of people seeking them out. It’s also great to see just how many used electric cars are being bought and sold right now – the demand for EVs is growing fast and people are realising they can pick up some great models second hand without breaking the bank on a new one.”

The weird and wonderful 

Motorway’s data revealed it was an Italian yacht-themed Abarth 695C that was the rarest motor sold on the platform this year, alongside an Infiniti FX30d. And while black, white and grey are still the most in-demand colours, cream, pink and turquoise aren’t big sellers.  However, when it comes to selling cars, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, with one yellow Porsche 718 in Hampshire going for over £80k and a yellow Ford Mustang in Manchester selling for almost £30k and an orange BMW M4 going for £40k in Newport.