The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released a report today revealing that the UK used car market had a strong second quarter, with more than 2 million cars sold.
The market was down just 0.4% on last year’s figures, leaving sales for the year-to-date down 2.6%. SUVs proved popular with buyers, with demand 10.7% up on last year and diesel sales were up 3.2%.
Demand for alternatively fuelled vehicles, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric cars, grew by more than 25%, with 26,832 being sold.
The Ford Fiesta, which has been the top model of the year so far in terms of new registrations, was also the top used model in Q2. The next two spots on the leaderboard were taken by the Ford Fiesta and the Vauxhall Corsa respectively.
The market followed the new car market with other trends, such as the most popular car colours. Black remains the UK’s favourite car colour for the second quarter running and demand for white cars has grown the fastest, up nearly 10%.
The region with the most transactions in Q2 was the South East with 308,626 cars changing hands.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “It’s great to see that the used car sector remain in robust health as motorists take advantage of the exciting high-tech models filtering down from the new sector – including some of the latest low emission diesel and alternatively fuelled vehicles.”
He added: “However, with used sales so closely reflecting the new car market, some cooling is expected over the coming months. Given fleet renewal is the fastest way to improve air quality and reduce CO2, we need greater business and consumer confidence to keep both markets moving.”
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