UK used car market posts double-digit growth despite "volatile" year

Used car demand rose by more than 11 percent last year.

By: James Fossdyke

Feb 25, 2022 at 3:00am ET

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The UK used car market posted double-digit growth in 2021 despite what a leading industry body called a “volatile” year. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed more than 7.5 million used cars changed hands over the course of 2021.

That figure represented an 11.5-percent increase in transactions compared with 2020, a year ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdowns. Seen in the context of average figures from the five years before the Covid-19 pandemic struck in earnest, transactions were down by 5.5 percent.

Nevertheless, the SMMT was bullish about the sector’s future, claiming the pandemic was increasing the demand for personal mobility and therefore fuelling the used car market. The organisation’s chief executive, Mike Hawes, said the expected easing of the chip shortage later in 2022 would see more new models hit the second-hand market.

“It’s good to see the used car market return to growth, even if activity is still below where we were pre-pandemic,” said the SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes. “With the global shortage of semiconductors set to ease later this year, releasing the squeeze on new car supply, we expect more of the latest, cleanest and zero emission models to become available for second owners. The demand for personal mobility has undoubtedly increased during the pandemic, so it’s vital we have healthy new car sales to drive fleet renewal and the used car market if we are to improve air quality and address climate change.”

The SMMT figures revealed some noticeable trends in the used car sector, with buyers still very much in favour of petrol- and diesel-powered cars. According to the SMMT data, used diesel car sales were up by 9.8 percent compared with 2020, while used petrol car sales were up 10.7 percent. Together, petrol- and diesel-powered models made up 96.6 percent of all used car sales in 2021.

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That’s despite a definite increase in demand for electric and hybrid cars, with sales of battery-electric used cars more than doubling in 2021. Sales of plug-in hybrid cars grew similarly, up by more than 75 percent last year. More conventional 'self-charging' hybrids, such as the current-generation Toyota Prius and Yaris models, also saw sales increase by more than 50 percent.

Although the SMMT says growth in those departments was down to an increasing number of ultra-low and zero-emission models filtering through to second owners, the best-selling models were all too familiar. The Ford Fiesta took top spot, with more than 326,000 examples changing hands last year, with the second-placed Vauxhall Corsa some 60,000 or so units behind.