Used car market remains strong despite slight dip, says SMMT
Latest figures show more than 2,000,000 used car transactions took place from July to September
Britain’s used car market remains strong despite a small year-on-year dip during the third quarter of 2018, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
July to September 2018 saw 2,057,457 used car transactions take place – a 2.1 per cent dip over the same period in 2017. Despite this, though, the trade body has described the figures as ‘encouraging’.
Alternatively fuelled cars saw a surge in demand on the second-hand market, with hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles seeing a 28.6 per cent rise in sales year-on-year – with just under 30,000 transactions taking place.
Petrol and diesel cars remain king of the used market though, with 98 per cent of all transactions involving fossil-fuel-powered machinery. Diesel cars saw almost 850,000 new owners over the summer, despite an industry-wide purge of new machinery using the fuel.
The Ford Fiesta continued to be the best seller on the used market, reflecting its continued success in new car sales, with 93,260 second-hand sales of the supermini. Following in second place was its larger stablemate, the Focus, with 84,014 transactions, while a key rival in the Vauxhall Corsa rounded out the top three at 80,789.
Black proved to be the go-to choice for buyers in the used market, with 431,000 transactions involving cars finished in the shade. Silver/aluminium-painted cars were involved in 411,924 transactions, while blue came in third with 362,096.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “It is encouraging that the UK used car market has remained solid in the third quarter of the year, and good news that there is growing enthusiasm for alternatively powered vehicles.
“The right policies and incentives from government are needed to encourage new car buyers to take up the latest, cleanest petrol, diesel and electric models that best suit their driving needs. This would be the best way for these advanced technologies to filter through to the used market, helping to accelerate fleet renewal to improve air quality and meet climate change goals.”
