Prestige brands are back in favour with used car buyers this spring, according to Aston Barclay’s latest used car desirability index.

While buyers had switched to lower-cost cars at the end of 2021 and into early 2022, Aston Barclay’s data reveals the market has now swung back to premium-branded models

While buyers had switched to lower-cost cars at the end of 2021 and into early 2022, the firm’s data reveals the market has now swung back to premium-branded models.

Among its list of the top 15 most desirable vehicles in March, Mercedes, Range Rover and BMW made up more than 53%. The S-Class led the March index with a high score of 9.3 closely followed by the Mercedes GLE and BMW X5.

And the rest of the line-up has been filled by other traditionally luxury brands such as Volvo, Audi and Lexus, with only the ever-present Toyota Prius and Hyundai ix20 leading the way on value-focused motoring.

“Dealers are coming back into the market for premium brands as their stocks have reduced over the past two months. Many dealers moved to buying more budget stock earlier in the year for fear of having too many high-value used cars on their forecourts and then market prices softening,” said Martin Potter, Aston Barclay’s MD – customer.

“New car sales look set to be compromised by semiconductor shortages for some time to come so we believe higher value premium bands will continue to do well in the used market,” he added.

Aston Barclay’s monthly index takes into consideration three key metrics: web views prior to sale, number of physical and online bids per sale, and the sale price achieved as a percentage of CAP average.

Aston Barclay’s latest used car desirability index: