The UK used car market posted its third consecutive year of growth in 2025, reaching 7,807,872 transactions, up 2.2 percent from the prior year. Battery electric vehicles drove the momentum, with sales jumping 45.7 percent to a record 274,815 units, according to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
That BEV figure represents a 3.5 percent share of the total used market, up from 2.5 percent in 2024. Combined with plug-in hybrids climbing 6.3 percent to 88,032 units and hybrids surging 28.6 percent to 407,531 units, total electrified vehicle sales hit 770,378 transactions. That's 30.9 percent growth year over year and accounts for nearly one in ten used car purchases.
Petrol and diesel still dominate at 89.9 percent of the market, per SMMT figures reported across AM Online, Fleet World, and Motor Trader. Petrol rose 1.5 percent to claim 56.7 percent of sales while diesel dropped 3.5 percent to 33.1 percent. The shift is gradual but directional.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, called it market resilience. "Recovering new car demand revitalising choice and affordability – especially for EVs – in the used market," he said in the official release.
The growth contradicts the depreciation crisis narrative dominating automotive coverage lately. Yes, EVs lose value faster than combustion cars in the first three years. Yes, depreciation curves remain steep. But if values were truly catastrophic, nobody would be buying. Instead, used EV transactions increased by nearly half in a single year.
Ian Plummer, Autotrader's chief customer officer, told Fleet News the figures "dispel any lingering doubts about consumer appetite for electric vehicles." Autotrader recorded 981.9 million visits in 2025, with demand for used EVs on the platform climbing 28 percent. Used EVs sold faster than any other fuel type and accounted for over one in seven inquiries for cars under five years old.
That behavior doesn't match buyer skepticism about battery degradation, range anxiety, or residual values. Either consumers haven't noticed the depreciation headlines, or they've decided lower purchase prices offset the risk.
The numbers suggest the latter. A three-year-old EV that lost 50 percent of its value is now half-price. For buyers who keep cars seven to ten years, front-loaded depreciation becomes irrelevant. What matters is total cost of ownership: purchase price, fuel savings, maintenance, insurance, and eventual resale.
Lower transaction prices are driving volume. More new EVs entering the market between 2022 and 2024 created supply on the used side. As inventory expands, prices adjust downward, making EVs accessible to buyers priced out of new models. The depreciation that destroys equity for original owners creates affordability for second owners.
Third-quarter 2025 data showed the trend accelerating. Used BEV transactions rose 44.4 percent to 80,614 units, capturing a record 4.0 percent market share in that three-month period alone, according to Motor Finance Online. Nearly 100,000 cars under one year old, a third of them electrified, changed hands during Q3.
Employee car ownership schemes supply many nearly new EVs to the used market. Company car tax incentives drive new EV purchases, then those vehicles cycle into the secondhand market after two to three years. SMMT warned that potential government plans to remove these schemes could cut new registrations by 80,000 units annually, restricting used supply.
The Ford Fiesta retained its position as the UK's best-selling used car in 2025, continuing its decades-long dominance. Black remained the favorite color, chosen by nearly 1.7 million buyers at 21.2 percent of the market. Superminis stayed the most popular body type. Some things never change.
But the fuel mix is shifting faster than body style preferences. Diesel's 3.5 percent decline continues a multi-year retreat as buyers abandon the fuel type once considered the sensible choice for high-mileage drivers. Petrol holds steady, rising marginally. Electrified powertrains climb consistently year after year.
The average UK vehicle age reached 9.5 years, suggesting owners are holding cars longer as purchase prices remain elevated. New car supply recovered in 2025, with registrations climbing 3.5 percent to exceed two million units for the first time since 2019. That pipeline will feed the used market in 2026 and 2027, bringing more recent models with modern features into the secondhand pool.
John Cassidy, managing director of Close Brothers Motor Finance, told Fleet World that motorists are increasingly turning to used cars as the overall cost of motoring rises. He warned that government EV pay-per-mile tax proposals risk working against uptake targets, making electrification less attractive just as consumer interest accelerates.
Autotrader data shows the UK used car market started 2026 strong, with January visits surging 24.7 percent month over month to 86.3 million after the typical festive lull. The average used car price hit £17,294 in January, the highest monthly average since November 2023, based on 800,000 daily observations across the retail market.
Rising retail prices alongside rising transaction volumes suggests demand remains robust despite affordability concerns. Buyers are paying more per car but buying more cars overall. That dynamic sustains dealer margins and keeps inventory turning.
Coverage from automotive sites like GaukMotorBuzz.com and Motoringresearch has tracked the shift toward used EVs as a mainstream purchase rather than early adopter behavior. The 45.7 percent growth rate reflects maturation of the electric vehicle market into a viable secondhand option with sufficient choice, infrastructure, and buyer confidence.
The policy environment remains uncertain. The 2035 combustion engine sales ban looms. ZEV mandates push manufacturers toward electric. Tax incentives favor new EVs but create distortions in the used market. Proposals for road pricing and changes to vehicle excise duty could shift buyer behavior unpredictably.
What the data shows clearly is that used EV sales are accelerating regardless of depreciation, regardless of infrastructure concerns, and regardless of political debates over charging networks or battery lifespan. Nearly 275,000 buyers chose used battery electric cars in 2025. That's up from 188,000 in 2024 and roughly 130,000 in 2023.
The trajectory points one direction. Whether driven by environmental concern, fuel cost savings, company car tax benefits, or simply curiosity about new technology, buyers are moving toward electric in growing numbers. The used market provides the entry point for buyers unwilling or unable to pay new EV premiums.
Depreciation remains steep. First owners absorb heavy losses. But second and third owners benefit from lower acquisition costs and similar running cost advantages. The math works differently depending on which side of the transaction you're on.
For the market overall, three consecutive years of growth following the pandemic collapse suggests stability. Supply and demand have rebalanced. New car production recovered. Used inventory expanded. Buyers returned. The ecosystem functions.
The EV component of that ecosystem is growing faster than any other segment. A 45.7 percent increase in one year doesn't happen by accident. It reflects supply expansion, price correction, infrastructure improvement, and shifting buyer attitudes toward electric powertrains.
Whether that growth sustains through 2026 depends on new car supply, policy stability, economic conditions, and infrastructure investment. The fundamentals look solid. Nearly a billion Autotrader visits. Record transaction volumes. Rising average prices. Strong dealer engagement.
The used car market works. The used EV market works. And the numbers prove that buyers are willing to take the depreciation hit on someone else's purchase if it means driving electric for thousands less than new.
Three years of growth. Record EV sales. Nearly eight million transactions. The UK used car market isn't just recovering. It's evolving.
