The cars sold by drivers who have owned them for the shortest period of time have been revealed, and it is the vehicles from the world’s most famous electric vehicle brand that discharge the fastest.
Teslas sell with the shortest ownership records compared to any other car brand, new findings from vehicle history checking service CarVertical show.
Tesla drivers are the only drivers in the UK to keep their cars for less than two years on average, while McLaren supercars are the second most traded, followed by sensible seats.
Tesla owners get rid of them on average less than two years after purchasing them. But this is probably because so many people rent them, increasing the American brand’s turnover rates.
The new McLaren Artura two-seat hybrid supercar is priced from £189,200, plus you have running costs. According to CarVertical, the huge cost of supercars is probably the reason why McLarens come in second place in terms of shortest ownership periods.
| Range | Brand | Average time between owners (months) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tesla | 20.6 | |
| 2 | McLaren | 24.7 | |
| 3 | Seat | 33.7 | |
| 4 | dacia | 33.8 | |
| 5 | Audi | 34.0 |
CarVertical data shows that Tesla owners sell an average of 20.6 months, while McLarens sell after 24.7 months.
Teslas are consistently some of the best-selling electric vehicles in the UK and the Model Y was the most purchased new engine in Europe across all fuel types in 2023.
The fact that Tesla takes first place is probably because most owners lease the brand’s cars rather than buying them outright, CarVertical explains.
That McLaren takes second place may seem surprising, but once you factor in the high costs of ownership, it also makes more sense.
Seat, a much more affordable brand, and the Romanian manufacturer Dacia, very cheap, find their cars in third and fourth place respectively.
A typical Seat owner will leave their car behind after 33.7 months, while a Dacia owner will lag behind at 33.8 months.
Audi is in fifth place, with its models sold every 34 months on average.
Dacia is known for its very, very cheap cars. Its newest car is the UK’s cheapest EV – the Dacia Spring, which will start at £14,995 in the UK.
Among the top 10 fastest trading positions are BMW in sixth place, Mercedes-Benz in seventh, Smart in eighth, Aston Martin in ninth and Volkswagen in tenth.
Other luxury brands also made the top 20, with Bentley at 11th, Ferrari at 16th, Porsche at 17th and Land Rover at 18th.
But, as CarVertical expert Matas Buzelis says, “context matters.”
You have to take into account the use of the car and the purchasing situation, he explains.
“Expensive electric vehicles, like Teslas, are often rented as company cars, meaning they are more likely to change hands more quickly than cars that are solely owned by their drivers,” Buzelis tells us.
By individual models, the Alfa Romeo Giulia, the Porsche 718 and the Mercedes-Benz AMG GT are the cars that drivers keep on average for the shortest time: only 15.9, 18.2 and 20.9 months respectively.
The Porsche 718 Boxster T (left) and the 718 Cayman T are new, lighter versions of the popular sports cars
CarVertical also found out which models have the highest number of owners, with some “retro” cars having the highest number of registered owners in the V5.
The two-seat Toyota MR2 has an average of 3.33 owners, while the late 90s/early 2000s BMW Z3 has an average of 3.26 owners.
The Ford Escort, Subaru Impreza and Nissan GT-R have an average of 2.98, 2.73 and 2.65 keepers respectively.
These models will be less attractive to buyers because used cars with a large number of previous owners make potential drivers cautious about parting with cash.
The Toyota MR2 has more owners (3.33 on average), making it the model that changes hands the most
Alpina, the Bavarian manufacturer recently acquired by BMW, is the brand with the highest number of owners in the whole
If analyzed by brands, Alpina – bought by BMW in 2022 – has the highest number of average owners (3.03), followed by Rover (2.60) and Saab (2.53).
Bentley was the most expensive brand to make the top five, coming in fourth with an average of 2.44 porters.
Subaru has 2.41 owners (fifth) and Ferrari a fraction behind with 2.40 owners (sixth).
Matas Buzelis commented: ‘While the mileage and service history will give you a good idea of the car’s condition and value, knowing how many times it has changed hands can also provide useful clues.
‘Lots of previous ownership could be a sign that the car is expensive to run or even has an underlying or recurring fault.
“Some specialist cars like the Toyota MR2 or BMW Z3 can be hard to live with – they’re great fun to drive, but with very limited luggage space they can be impractical for everyday use.”
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