- Used car sales reach almost 2 million units in second quarter as new car sector slowly recovers.
- One in 10 used car transactions electrified, with record 68,721 battery electric vehicles changing hands.
- Overall market back to pre-pandemic level in first half of the year, surpassing 4 million units.
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Q2 2025 used car data
The UK’s used car market grew by 1.7% in the second quarter to reach almost two million (1,996,116) transactions in the best Q2 performance since 2021,1 according to the latest figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was the 10th consecutive quarter of growth, driven by ongoing recovery in the new car sector, and realigned the market within 1% of pre-pandemic levels in the first half of 2025 as 4,017,106 pre-owned cars found new owners, up 2.2% on last year. 2
In Q2, petrol remained the best-selling fuel type, with transactions rising 1.5% to 1,134,387 units, while diesel declined -4.3% to 664,644 units. These vehicles accounted for 90.1% of all cars changing hands, although their combined market share fell by more than two percentage points due to the growing popularity of second-hand electrified vehicles.
One in 10 (9.7%) cars changing hands in Q2 was electrified, with hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) transactions increasing by 27.7% to 100,127 units and owning 5.0% of the market. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were also up by 10.3% to 24,370 units, and a market share of 1.2%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) transactions showed the strongest growth, up 40.0% to record 68,721 units and account for 3.4% of the market. Further growth will hinge on measures to drive uptake in the new car market, including rapid rollout of the new Electric Car Grant and accelerated development of the UK’s charging network, both crucial to assuring plentiful long-term supply into the used sector and building consumer confidence.
Smaller cars retained their popularity, with superminis continuing to hold the highest share of the market (31.8%), followed by lower medium vehicles (26.7%). Transactions rose in both segments, up 1.3% to 635,126 units and 0.5% to 533,860 units respectively. Sales of dual purpose vehicles also grew, up 6.7% to 331,924 units. Specialist sports cars experienced the sharpest drop of -4.1% to 58,759 units, followed by upper medium vehicles which fell -3.4% to 186,714 units.
In line with the new car market, black, grey and white (the latter shunting blue from the top three) were the quarter’s best-selling colours, together commanding more than half (55.2%) of transactions. Cream, green, yellow and pink recorded the strongest growth, up 10.7%, 9.0%, 8.0% and 8.0% respectively, while the steepest declines were experienced by turquoise (-5.6%), gold (-5.5%) and silver (-3.9%). Maroon meanwhile replaced cream as the sector’s least favourite colour.
Surpassing the four million half-year milestone for the first time since 2019 shows the UK’s used car market is building back momentum. That’s good news for the industry and for motorists who benefit from more choice and affordability across a range of higher tech, cleaner vehicles, notably in the emerging electric vehicle sector.
To maintain this trajectory, a thriving new car market must be delivered across the segments, along with accelerated investment into the charging network to give every driver the ability to switch.
Notes to editors
- Used car transactions, Q2 2021: 2,167,504 units
- Used car transactions, first half 2019: 4,053,38 units
