Used car sales on the rise

As carmakers battle to meet UK government mandates demanding increasing levels of electrification, just 2.1 per cent of the 1.97 million units sold in the period were electric vehicles (EV).

Ford’s Fiesta – no longer sold as a new car – was the UK’s best seller, finding 80,814 new owners as petrol and diesel vehicles accounted for 92.9 per cent of the market.

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive, Mike Hawes, insisted that a “reinvigorated new car market” was delivering “more choice and affordability for used car buyers”, however.

He added: “Incentivising new EV uptake and investing in a charge point network that is accessible, available and affordable to all will drive the nation’s net zero transition.”

Used EV sales rose by 71 per cent, to 41,505, in quarter one.