Average used prices on the rise again
The average retail price of a used car in March was up 2.3% to £17,720 in March.
According to AutoTrader, this is up from the 1.3% year-on-year increase recorded in February, and marks the first acceleration in the rate of growth in 10 months.
March’s level is also up 0.7% on February’s average prices, marking the third consecutive monthly increase and well ahead of the 0.1% growth recorded in both March 2022 and 2021, as well as the pre-pandemic average contraction of -0.4% recorded in March between 2011 and 2019.
Director of data and insights Richard Walker, said: “As soon as we came out of the quiet festive period, we saw signs of a used car market in very robust health. The acceleration in the rate of price growth after 10 months of softening could not be a clearer barometer of the current market, which despite the wider economic and political backdrop, is going from strength to strength this year. Although growth rates may begin to soften again, with no immediate change expected in the current supply and demand dynamics, anyone predicting a fall in used car prices anytime soon will be disappointed.”
Meanwhile, EV values were down 13% on the same period last year due to high levels of supply.
