According to Auto Trader, the BMW 3-Series was the most searched for car in the UK last year, closely followed by the VW Golf.

While this may not be an official award or anything of that nature, it’s important to state that Auto Trader is the UK’s largest online marketplace for new and used cars, and if you can dominate that type of environment with one of your models, you’re definitely being successful.

In a sense, by averaging 43 million cross-platform visits, Auto Trader’s most searched for list provides an excellent insight into the UK’s “appetite” for both new and used cars, and surprisingly, 2015 was definitely a year dominated by the premium brands.

According to AT Editor in Chief, Jon Quirk, the BMW 3-Series “has proven it is the undisputed king of the compact executive class, but it’s also interesting to see how dominant the premium car brands have been in both our national and regional searches. New car sales remain in strong health, supported by the availability of cheap finance via personal contract purchase (PCP), and this has allowed consumers to research and subsequently buy these more expensive, upmarket cars.”

The fact that the Golf took 2nd place was no surprise, nor was the Focus coming in at 3rd. But to have the 5-Series and the C-Class respectively as the 4th and 5th most searched for cars in 2015, ahead of the Fiesta (6th) and the Vauxhall Astra (10th), speaks volumes about how people tend to prefer premium products.

And yes, 7th, 8th and 9th place went to premium models as well, such as the Audi A3, BMW 1-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class respectively.

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