Dealer Auction’s latest EV Performance Review has revealed that profit margins for used hybrids and electric vehicles (EVs) have increased by 9.3% month-on-month.

Average profit margins across alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) rose to £3,059 in May, with average vehicle age falling to 3.2 years (from 3.4 years), and average mileage falling to 27,371.

Of all AFVs, the Lexus UX hybrid SUV saw the largest average retail margins, at £4,722; however, according to Auto Trader, UX models took an average of 53 days to sell, the second highest of any car on the top 10 list.

Margins on Tesla Model 3s were second-highest, at £3,710, making it the EV with the highest profit margins, with all other top 10 entries being hybrid models.

Model 3s sold in 39 days, on average.

Kieran TeeBoon, marketplace director at Dealer Auction, said: “Dealerships can take great encouragement from these statistics.

“Not only is it becoming clearer which types of EV they should sell, but we can see how the market is frequently demonstrating its profitability.”

The Lexus RX took third place, with average margins of £3,692, while the Hyundai Tucson took fourth (£3,312), and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class took third (£3,191).

Of the vehicles in the top 10, the Toyota RAV4 sold fastest, with the average vehicle selling in 33 days, while the Hyundai Tucson suffered from the longest sale times, at 61 days on average.

Hybrids continued to take more market share in May, seeing a month-on-month increase of 29%, with hybrids now representing 7.15% of the used car market.

TeeBoon said: “May has been another high-performing month for AFVs. We’re seeing growth in profit, sales and consistency in model preferences, all of which is a move in the right direction.

“It’ll be exciting to see whether this positive trend continues in next month’s figures.”