The UK’s used car market experienced growth in 2024, with transactions increasing by 5.5% to 7,643,180, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
This marks eight consecutive quarters of growth, driven by the expanding new car market, which has enhanced availability and choice in the used sector.
Transactions rose consistently throughout the year, with the fourth quarter seeing a 4% increase to 1,746,051 units.
Superminis remained the most popular body type, making up 32.3% of sales, followed by lower medium vehicles at 27.1%, and dual-purpose vehicles at 15.9%.
Dual-purpose vehicles also showed the strongest volume rise of 10.7%, the industry body said.
In terms of colour preference, black cars were the most popular among used buyers, with 21.3% opting for this hue.
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By GlobalData
Grey and blue followed, accounting for 17.6% and 16.2% of sales, respectively.
Turquoise cars saw the largest growth, up 11.2% to 8,266 units, while grey saw the largest volume gain, increasing by more than 117,000 units to 1.34 million.
SMMT said the demand for used battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) soared, with a 57.4% rise to a record 188,382 units, achieving a 2.5% market share, up from 1.7% in 2023.
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and hybrids (HEVs) also saw growth, with sales up 32.2% to 92,120 units and 39.3% to 306,114 units, respectively.
The SMMT added the increase in used electrified vehicle transactions by 43.3% reflects the growing demand and variety in the electric vehicle market, catering to diverse buyer needs.
However, future growth may be impacted by upcoming vehicle excise duty (VED) and expensive car supplement charges on new BEVs from April, potentially affecting the used market, the industry body warned.
Petrol and diesel vehicles continued to dominate the used car market, accounting for 92.1% of transactions, although this was a slight decrease from 94.3% in 2023.
Petrol sales rose by 6.8% to 57.1% of the market while diesel transactions fell by -2.4% to 35.0%.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “The used car sector’s 25-month growth streak is good news for fleet renewal and for consumers benefitting from the greater choice filtering through from the new market. Record sales of second-hand EVs also demonstrate a strong appetite for these cutting-edge cars at lower price points.
“Ensuring ongoing growth, however, means maintaining that affordability, along with supply, which requires meaningful fiscal incentives to stimulate consumer demand for new EVs and removing the VED expensive car tax disincentive that risks dragging down used EV affordability for years to come.”
