Sales for battery electric vehicles (BEV) rose 57%, Q2 data for used cars from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has indicated, suggesting a massive outperformance compared to traditional counterparts.
Despite an electric boost, the UK’s used car market shrank by 18.8% during the second quarter of 2022. However, the scale of this decline was artificially inflated by comparison with 2021 when the easing of Covid restrictions saw the busiest second quarter since records began. By comparison, Q2 2022 was 3.5% behind pre-pandemic 2019.
The ongoing shortage of semiconductors continued to impact the new car market supply, with an inevitable knock-on effect on used transactions.
Hybrid electric vehicles on the other hand declined by 4%. As a result, used petrol and diesel vehicles remained dominant, totalling 1,682,280 units and accounting for 95.6% of sales.
“It was inevitable that the squeeze on new car supply would filter through to the used market. Despite this, Britain’s used car buyers clearly have a growing appetite for the latest low- and zero-emission cars, and we need a thriving new car market to feed it,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT’s chief executive.
The trade association also notes that the most popular segment types were supermini (31.4%), lower medium (26.5%) and dual purpose (14.7%). In the used car segment, black cars proved the most popular, accounting for more than one in five (21.5%) sales, followed by blue and grey.
The data compiled by SMMT shows that the first half transactions were down 8.3% compared to last year and the market is now 12.8% year-to-date behind the pre-pandemic levels.
Hawes added that the next Prime Minister “must create the conditions to drive consumer confidence, especially in EVs, and the fleet renewal necessary to meet our decarbonisation goals.”