E-retailing giant eBay has relaunched its line in secondhand vehicle parts with a promise that repairers and customers stand to make a 70% saving against the price of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts.

The Certified Recycled scheme saw a 10% year-on-year increase in sales in 2022.

Dr Tony Tong, head of automotive at eBay UK, said: "Certified Recycled parts can be a huge benefit to customers and businesses alike. With parts delays, rising costs and more focus than ever on making the right choices to reduce our carbon footprint, these parts have the potential to help save money, time and the environment."

The move is in line with eBay's declared goals made in its 2022 Recommerce Report.

Jamie Iannone, president and CEO, said: "We know that our sellers and buyers are passionate about the sustainable and economic values of recommerce. At eBay, these values are core to who we are as a company – and we work every day to build a more robust circular economy."

Research carried out by eBay showed 16.1% of motorists frequently buy recycled parts to save money, while 14% choose used ones to reduce their carbon emissions. But while some car owners were happy to buy parts themselves, one-in-10 preferred to buy from a professional service centre.

Under eBay's scheme, Certified Recycled parts are sold by businesses that have been checked and certified by the Vehicle Recyclers Association (VRA), so any part listed has been sourced from and can be traced to an end-of-life vehicle, having been accurately identified, recorded, tested and graded. All body parts have a year's warranty with all mechanical items are covered for three months.

In 2022, eBay said UK shoppers buying used car parts and accessories made a net saving of more than 16,000 tonnes of CO2 and diverted 3,000,000kg of waste from landfill sites, simply by choosing this solution over brand-new parts. Insurers and bodyshops are also, says eBay, increasingly looking to use recycled parts as a way to help decarbonise the repairs process.

Dr Tong added: "We're making it as easy as possible for people to find these parts, and to understand the potential benefits they bring, in the hope that motorists will increasingly choose Certified Recycled parts as alternatives to buying brand new items."

eBay's first Certified Recycled part was listed in June 2020, with the marketplace now hosting 81 certified sellers across the UK.