Used 4x4 sellers are looking abroad in order to shift their thirsty off-roaders, according to a report in The Times.

The report claims more than half of customers for some second-hand 4x4s come from overseas, particularly countries with lower fuel taxes and poorer roads.

The pound’s weak exchange rate and the high cost of fuel and road tax in the UK are also driving the trend.

Specialist 4x4 seller Land Rover has seen its new-vehicle sales fall dramatically over the last year – its sales for the first nine months of this year are nearly 25% lower than the same period of 2008.

Petrol prices have been volatile over the last two years and have been rising again in the last few months, which has seen manufacturers release more fuel efficient versions of their off-roaders.

Ford, BMW and Volvo have both released two-wheel-drive versions of their small SUVs – the Kuga, X1 and the XC60 respectively.

Volvo initially intended to only release a 4x4 version of the XC60, but changed that plan after the car had gone on sale.

Despite the new car sales drop and the increase in foreign buyers, searches for used SUVs on the Auto Trader website have remained consistent with the rest of the market.

They dropped towards the end of 2008 but have now picked up at the beginning of this year and have remained consistent ever since.