Used car market finishes 2019 strongly

The UK’s used car market finished 2019 almost on par with the previous year, falling just 0.1%.

A strong second half of the year saw the market recover after a difficult start to 2019. This is according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which found that 7,935,105 transactions took place in the year, down 9,935 on 2018.

There was continued robust demand for used petrol and diesel cars, with sales of the latter down just 0.6% to 3,297,953 and a 41.7% market share. Petrol sales fell by an even more marginal 0.3% to 4,494,611 transactions, contrasting with zero emission, battery electric vehicle demand, which surged 21.8% to 14,112, but equivalent to just 0.2% of the market.

Combined, alternatively fuelled vehicles (hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric) were up emphatically, increasing 23.4% with 135,516 changing hands and accounting for 1.7% of all sales. Meanwhile, transactions of the latest, cleanest Euro 6 models, available since 2015, were up 32.5% as more of them reached the used market, helping to address air quality concerns.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “It is encouraging to see used car sales return to growth in the latter part of 2019 after a prolonged period of decline, and we need to see a similar rebound in new car sales if we are to meet environmental targets. A buoyant used car market is necessary to maintain strong residual values and, clearly, it is now outperforming the new car market.

“This does, however, suggest that weak consumer confidence and ongoing uncertainty over possible future restrictions on different vehicle technologies are causing some car buyers to hold off buying new models. This is delaying the fleet renewal we need now if we are to deliver immediate and continuous improvement in air quality and climate change.”