UK used car market sees record momentum in Q1 2024

The second quarter of 2024 has dawned upon the used car market with unprecedented vigour, as revealed by the latest data from Auto Trader. March witnessed remarkable speed of sale and heightened consumer engagement, propelling the market to new heights. The report disclosed that both the velocity of transactions and consumer interaction surged to record levels last month. Moreover, there were promising indications of retail prices stabilising, aligning more closely with traditional seasonal patterns.

According to the Auto Trader Retail Price Index, an index based on 800,000 daily pricing observations and now incorporated into the Office for National Statistics’ inflationary measures, average prices experienced a marginal softening of just -0.7 per cent month-on-month in March. This trend mirrors pre-COVID norms for this time of the year.

UK used car market: latest data

These are UK's fastest selling used cars according to Auto Trader

Ford Fiesta retains crown as UK's best-selling used car

Furthermore, the brisk pace of used car sales is striking. The report reveals that used cars spent an average of just 25 days on retailers’ forecourts last month, two days quicker than February and three days faster than March last year, setting a new record for the fastest monthly pace ever recorded by Auto Trader.

Despite a slight dip of approximately 1 per cent compared to March 2023, attributed in part to some retailers facing challenges in sourcing replacement stock for rapidly sold vehicles, Auto Trader's retail sales data indicates a positive 2 per cent year-over-year increase across the quarter.

Top 10 used car price growth | March 2024 vs March 2023 like-for-like

“Despite an uncertain economic and political backdrop, we’ve seen a positive start to 2024, with demand remaining robust throughout the quarter. But whilst our outlook for the rest of the year is confident, retailers face an incredibly nuanced and complex market which will continue to move at pace. To navigate the market, and to identify both future opportunities and risks, we’ve made more of our insights and intelligence available than ever before; judging by the fact our valuations data alone was used over 240 million times last year, around 100 million more times than 2022, we can see just how powerful it’s been in informing key retail decisions,” Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s Data & Insights Director, commented.

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