CarGurus Releases 2016’s Most Sought After Used Cars

January 9, 2017
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Analysis Shows Pickup Trucks Lead Shopper Interest, Sedan Interest Waning

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., January 9, 2017 – CarGurus, a leading car shopping site, today released its first-ever Year in Review Used Car Shopper Interest Study analyzing car shopper search trends for 2016. CarGurus analysts looked at the 900 million used car searches conducted by its 21 million unique monthly users in 2016 and identified the most sought after makes and models, and the year over year shifts in interest for each.

When comparing 2016’s top ten most searched cars, pickup trucks like the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tacoma saw the largest search increases when compared to last year. Even though sedans like the Honda Accord and BMW 3 Series may have been among the most searched for cars, each saw shoppers’ interest fade when compared to 2015.

The ten most-searched used cars in 2016 are below, accompanied by their year-over-year percentage change:


  1. Ford Mustang -3.2%
  2. Ford F-150 10.8%
  3. Jeep Wrangler 5.1%
  4. Chevrolet Silverado 12.4%
  5. Chevrolet Corvette -2.1%
  6. Chevrolet Camaro 4.4%
  7. Toyota Tacoma 6.9%
  8. Honda Accord -2.1%
  9. BMW 3 Series -4.4%
  10. Dodge Charger 2.4%

 

Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota were the top three most sought after used car brands in 2016. However, GMC’s almost 6% increase in searches year-over-year gives it the biggest percentage gain among the top ten car makers. On the other hand, Nissan stayed among the most searched brands, but saw a material 8% decline in search interest versus a year ago.

The ten most searched car brands in 2016 are below, accompanied by their year-over-year percentage change:


  1. Chevrolet 2.4%
  2. Ford 3.9%
  3. Toyota 2.3%
  4. BMW 0.3%
  5. Honda -2.9%
  6. Dodge 0.6%
  7. Mercedes-Benz 1.3%
  8. Nissan -8.3%
  9. Jeep 3.9%
  10. GMC 5.8%

 

“It comes as no surprise to see the car manufacturers with the most popular pickup trucks sit atop our list of most popular used car brands for 2016, while the manufacturers without those types of vehicles in their lineup saw shoppers’ interest decrease,” said Lisa Rosenberg, Data Analyst at CarGurus. “Over the past four years, the strong demand in pickup trucks has helped that category retain its value extremely well when compared to the rest of the used auto market, and it is likely that this trend should continue in 2017.”

Methodology

CarGurus analyzed over 1.5 billion used car searches from 2015 and 2016 to identify trends in used car shopping.

About CarGurus

Founded in 2006 by Langley Steinert, co-founder of TripAdvisor, CarGurus is a leading online automotive shopping destination focused on bringing transparency and efficiency to the car research and shopping experience. The site uses technology and market data analysis to help millions of automotive shoppers search for cars and quickly identify the best deals from top-rated dealers in their local area. Today, the site serves 21 million unique monthly users and more than 19,000 car dealerships with more than 5 million car listings, and it ranks #1 among car shopping websites in the U.S. by daily unique visitor traffic and mobile visitors as measured by ComScore Media Metrix. CarGurus also has sites in the U.K. and Canada.

Brian Kramer
CarGurus
6179492826
pr@cargurus.com