The UK used car market had best ever second quarter as lockdown eased, businesses reopened, demand for personal mobility increased and a shortage of new models forced some buyers to choose second-hand models.
The UK’s used car market grew 108.6% in the second quarter of 2021 compared with the year-earlier quarter, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The SMMT said 2.17mln vehicles were bought, up 6.6% on 2019 pre-pandemic levels, making it the best second-quarter performance and almost the best quarter ever for the second-hand car market.
“More motorists are turning to used cars as supply shortages continue to affect the new car market, and the increased need for personal mobility with people remaining wary of public transport as they return to work,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
“A buoyant used car market is necessary to maintain strong residual values which, in turn, supports new car transactions. We now need to see a similar rebound in new car sales to accelerate the fleet renewal necessary to deliver immediate and continuous improvements in air quality and carbon emissions.”
Demand for used battery electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles continued to grow in the second quarter, with transactions jumping 354% and 350% respectively to 10,903 and 16,202 from the year-earlier quarter, although they still make up a tiny part of second-hand sales.
“Buyers were keen to get their hands on the latest, green technology, helped by increased supply flowing through from higher new car sales and wider product choice, with the market share for plug-in vehicles increasing to 1.3% of the used car market in the quarter,” SMMT said.
“Nevertheless, at 1.3% of market share, the plug-in used car market is not yet seeing the acceleration of uptake as has been seen in the new car market with the number of used plug-ins changing hands in Q2 2021 comparable with the number of new plug-ins bought in Q3 2015.
“The scale of the challenge to transition the entire used car parc away from traditional fuels remains significant.”