More families 'looking for fuel-efficient cars'

Date: 23/2/2011

A growing awareness of green motoring issues has led to trends in used car buying moving in a more environmental direction, it has been revealed.

Coupled with the effects of the economic downturn on consumer spending, HPI found that fuel efficiency appears to becoming an increasingly important factor when purchasing a second-hand motor.

Looking at the checks it carried out during 2010, the firm has revealed that nearly 40 per cent were for small family cars - which it claims reflects the desire to achieve lower motoring costs.

However, it also found that demand for electric vehicles or those running on biofuel was not as strong.

But Nicola Johnson, Consumer Services Manager for HPI, said: "The technology is moving forward all the time, with innovation from race teams helping push the envelope for road vehicles, so we are sure we will see a pick up in these vehicle types on the used market over the coming years."

Indeed, Dr Ben Lane, Director of nextgreencar.com, recently noted that the recession has helped to fuel consumer interest in green vehicles.

Posted by Nick Anderson