Tesco Cars has shut up shop exactly one year after launching its car retailing service on the back of the established Carsite.co.uk infrastructure.

The supermarket giant said: “We started Tesco Cars in good faith and we always aim to do a good job for customers.

"However, following a review of the business model we and Carsite, our partner, have decided that we cannot offer customers a satisfactory range of vehicles and as a result, have decided it is right to close the business.”

When it launched Tesco Cars in April 2011, it said it would be advertising up to 3,000 cars every week with fresh stock added to the website daily, offering a range of models between six months and three years old.

However, it now appears it was unable to source the stock required to make the division a success, especially considering the dearth of used cars in the market.