Hyundai and Kia shine as car of the year season begins

There were plenty of positives for South Korean manufacturers Hyundai and Kia in two new sets of sales figures and at the 2018 Car Dealer Magazine Used Car Awards.

The 2015 diesel manual variant of Hyundai’s Tucson compact SUV was Auto Trader’s fastest-selling model in October, taking just 19 days on average to leave a dealer’s forecourt, at an average price of £14,132.

It was closely followed by the 2015 diesel automatic variant of Kia’s Sorento large SUV and Hyundai’s 2017 diesel automatic i800 people carrier, which also both dipped under the 20 days to sell mark.

“SUVs continue to be the dominant force in the UK’s used car market,” said Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s director of commercial products.

Confirming the trend, Indicata (part of the Autorola auction group), announced that the Tucson was its third fastest-selling used car in October.

Its list was topped by the Ford Kuga - which took an average 30 days to sell at an average £18,867 - and Ford EcoSport - which took an average 31 days to sell at an average £13,030.

According to Indicata, Tucson took an average 35 days to sell at an average £17,214, ahead of the Ford Fiesta, Seat Ibiza and Kia Sportage.

Meanwhile, car of the year season got underway with the Car Dealer Magazine Used Car Awards, hosted by TV’s Mr Wheeler Dealer, Mike Brewer.

The Kia Sportage scooped the prestigious Used Car of the Year award.

James Baggott, chief executive of the Baize Group, which owns Car Dealer, said: “Every year, a staggering eight million used cars change hands - and with the new car market catching a cold in 2018, many dealerships are citing their used car arms as the most vital to profitability.”

Other notable winners included the Hyundai i10 (Used Small Car of the Year) and Mercedes-Benz A-Class (Used Mid-Sized Car of the Year).

This article was brought to you by our friends at MyCarCheck.com.