Used car sales grew 2.8 percent in Q3 of 2025, topping two million transactions for the first time since 2021.
With 2,021,265 second-hand cars changing hands, it means the used market has now grown for 11 quarters in a row.
This, says the SMMT, is thanks to improved new car supply as post-pandemic shortages eased. It’s also a result of cash-strapped motorists switching to used cars to offset rising new car prices.
More than 1.1 million used cars sold in Q3 had a petrol engine, making this the most popular fuel type. Sales grew 1.9 percent, while diesel fell 2.8 percent to 658,000 cars.
Hybrids are on the up, with sales rising 30.7 percent to 107,000 cars, while plug-in hybrids grew two percent to 23,480 cars.
The biggest improvement was in used electric car sales, which were up 44.4 percent to 80,614 cars. A record used electric car market share of four percent means one in 25 second-hand buyers made the switch to electric.
Most popular used cars
The Ford Fiesta remains Britain’s most popular used car, with more than 78,000 transactions in Q3. This is despite Ford’s increasingly baffling decision to stop production of the Fiesta.
The Vauxhall Corsa is gaining ground, with 64,000 transactions, while the Volkswagen Golf was in third, a few thousand units ahead of the Ford Focus.
Easily the most popular used car colour in Q3 was black, well ahead of grey and white. Meanwhile, the most transactions took place in the South East of England, followed by the North West and then the West Midlands.
The SMMT’s data also showed that the average age of a car in the UK continues to increase. It now stands at 9.5 years, up from eight years in 2019. Again, this indicates motorists are holding on to their cars for longer rather than buying new ones.
While the switch to electric is admirable, the need to get older, dirtier cars off the road is just as pressing if the UK is to hit its climate change goals.
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