UK’s used car market finishing the year strong
The latest data from the Auto Trader Retail Price Index is predicting a strong end to the year for UK’s used car market.
The Index, which assesses over 800,000 daily pricing observations from across the whole retail market, found that the average price of a used car last month fell by 7.4% year-on-year to £16,408, but this is the lowest annual decline since December 2023.
Month-on-month, the market rose one per cent.
The healthy performance was driven by strong demand (up 9.9%) coupled with continued supply constraints (down 5.6%).
Used car market values
Used petrol car value fell by 6.4% in October to £14,699, diesels were down 7.1% to £14,066 while electric vehicle prices decreased by 13.4% to an average of £26,819. Meanwhile, hybrid prices reduced by 12.5% year-on-year to £30,834. These prior year comparisons are all negative given the trade price induced fall in retail values seen last winter.
Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s data and insights director, said: “It’s good to see retailers showing more confident pricing trends and following the supply and demand data, helping 2024 end on a far stronger note than 2023.
“Last year, many retailers were unnerved by largely unwarranted price cuts in the wholesale market but thankfully today’s levels of demand, combined with continuing tightness of supply, mean that we haven’t seen that pattern repeated this year.”
