The south-east of England will remain the most profitable area to sell a used hybrid car until another area introduces a congestion charge.

Analysis of the used car market by Lex shows that London’s congestion charge will continue to have a strong distorting impact on the used vehicle market in the south-east, encouraging fleets and dealers to move hybrids and smaller cars in a bid to maximise used values.

Lex also predicts that some south-east-based vendors will even consider moving higher-powered petrol cars above 2.0 litres to other geographic areas for disposal to speed up sale times.

The analysis shows that used market trends will continue to shift over the next two or three years.

Andy Hartley, Lex director – vehicle pricing, procurement and remarketing, said: “The vehicle excise duty changes next year will place further cost constraints on consumers to discourage them from purchasing high-emitting, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

“As the availability of credit continues to reduce, consumers who previously bought new vehicles may be forced to enter the used market instead, increasing prices and demand.”

However, Mr Hartley sees this being countered by the continued rise in running costs, with fuel price rises adding considerably to the cost of ownership and forcing consumers to reassess their choices to meet budgets.