The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Used car sales rise as shortages hit new motor supply
The UK used car market increased 5.1% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the previous year, new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown.
The second-hand car market has seen rapid price growth as the semiconductor chip crisis has caused the new car market to struggle to meet demand, driving buyers to used cars instead.
It means some 1,774,351 transactions took place, up 86,596 on Q1 2021, when dealerships were closed to the public during coronavirus-related lockdowns, forcing all sales to take place through click and collect services.
The bump in figures was largely driven by high sales in January and February, which were up 17.7 and 7.4% on the same months last year. In March, sales were down 6.8%, as they’re compared with the market recovering as dealers reopened last year.
Despite this growth compared with last year, used car transactions are down 12.2% on the first quarter of 2019,
before the pandemic took hold.
The figures from industry
body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders indicate that used buyers are now flocking to electric vehicles. Although plug-in vehicles still make up less than 4% of the market share, used electric vehicle sales were up 120.2%.
Plug-in hybrids and hybrids were up 35.3 and 28.8% respectively, too.
The Ford Fiesta was the most popular used car in the period, with 73,851 transactions. It was followed by the Vauxhall Corsa (61,236), Volkswagen Golf (56,787), Ford Focus (56,250) and Vauxhall Astra (43,527).
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “With the new car market hampered by ongoing global supply shortages, growth in the used car market is welcome, if unsurprising especially given we were in lockdown last year.
“Electric car sales are energising the market, with zero emission vehicles starting to filter through in larger numbers to consumers looking forward to driving the latest and greenest vehicles.
“Although there is some way to go before we see the recent growth in new EVS replicated in the used market, a buoyant new car market will be vital to help drive fleet renewal.”