UK used car market on the rise

The UK's used car market increased by 0.9% in the third quarter of 2019, ending nine quarters of decline.

This is according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which found 2,076,382 transactions took place between July and September, 18,925 more than the same period in 2018.

Demand for diesel models was up 1.4% in the quarter with 858,442 changing hands, while petrol sales were flat with a slight drop of 0.2%. Plug-in electric and hybrid models showed a solid increase of 13%, totalling 37,589 units and increasing their share of sales to 1.8% from 1.6%.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: "This growth, following a prolonged period of decline, is encouraging and it's great to see a growing appetite for plug-in and hybrid models as they start to filter down to the used market. However, ongoing economic uncertainty and growing confusion over local clean air zones make it difficult to predict the future.

"To make meaningful environmental gains, we need to get more of the latest, lowest emitting cars on to our roads replacing older ones quickly – and that means delivering the right conditions and policies to give new and used buyers confidence to invest in the vehicles that best suit their driving needs and budgets."