Used car sales GROW – and we want Superminis, especially the Ford Fiesta

As new car sales decline, the used car market grows – up by 4.3% in the last quarter – with Superminis taking a third of the market.

New car sales are still struggling in the UK, especially for private buyers with numbers down almost 10% so far this year, as high prices, high interest rates and general doom and gloom pervade.

But that doesn’t mean private car buyers have decided to stick with the car they have, instead, they’re opting to buy secondhand where price and availability are much more appealing. That’s seen used car sales in the last quarter grow by 4.3% with almost 2 million cars changing hands, up by some 81,651 on the same period last year,

The biggest part of the market is for superminis, which took almost a third of used car sales as car makers throw away their new superminis despite obvious demand (we’re looking at you, Ford Fiesta) leaving buyers to flock to the used car market as new superminis disappear, sacrificed on the EV alter.

Unsurprisingly, sales of used EVs grew by a chunk as fleet EVs hit the market at prices often less than their ICE equivalents, with 53,423 used EVs changing hands, accounting for 2.7% of sales.

Mike Hawes, SMMT CEO, said:

Growth in the used car sector is good news and driven by an outstanding range of desirable and, increasingly, zero emission vehicles to suit every budget. Maintaining this depends on a healthy new car market, particularly for EVs.