Secondhand Car Sales Went Up by 5.1 Per Cent While BEVs Enjoyed Record Q1

23rd May 2022

Twist of Automotive Industry in 2022

Secondhand Car Sales Went Up by 5.1 Per Cent While BEVs Enjoyed Record Q1

Used car sales grew by 5.1 per cent in the first three months of this year,with 1,774,351 changing hands against 1,687,755 in 2021. Surprisingly, secondhand battery-electric cars enjoyed a record Q1, according to SMMT data.

In other words, dealerships sold 86,596 more vehicles in Q1 2022 compared to the same period last year when the UK was observing lockdowns, only permitting click-and-collect deals.

The sales in January and February this year grew 17.7 per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively, despite the low supply of vehicles owing to the semiconductor shortage. On the other hand, March witnessed a decline of 6.8 per cent compared to the same month last year when the sales picked in the recovering market.

Despite the sales growth in the first quarter of 2022, the numbers are still 12.2 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic (2019), when dealers displaced 2,020,144 used vehicles.

The good news is the increasing interest of buyers in used all-electric vehicles, with sales growing more than double from 6,625 to 14,586 – a boost of 120.2 per cent, which is a record number, according to the SMMT.

The sales of Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and Hybrid-Electric (HEVs) also went up by 35.3 per cent to 14,433 and 28.8 per cent to 35,007 cars, correspondingly compared to 2021.

Although the increasing sales of electrified vehicles are healthy, the internal combustion engine cars still dominate the secondhand vehicle market, indicating 96.2 per cent or around 1,707,135 units.

While the sales of plug-in vehicles consisted of 3.6 per cent of the overall market share – which was 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of last year, it is still not enough to make an impact.

Mini, dual-purpose, and supermini vehicle classes witnessed the greatest improvements - they grew by 13.5 per cent, 12.3 per cent, and 9.1 per cent, correspondingly.

Alternatively, sales of MPV, luxury saloons, and upper-medium vehicles declined by 7.5 per cent, 3.4 per cent, and 3.0 per cent, respectively.

Superminis were still the most famous secondhand purchase at 32.6 per cent, while lower-medium and dual-purpose cars were at 26.6 per cent and 14 per cent, respectively.

These three vehicle classes comprised over seven in ten (73.2 per cent) of all vehicles changing hands.

The black colour was most favoured by buyers, where one in five vehicles was black (383,418 units sold), followed by blue (291,199) and silver/aluminium (289,016).

Country-wide, the south-east of England witnessed most trades at 257,923, with the north-west and West Midlands coming on second and third spots with 195,551 and 179,727 sales correspondingly.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes stated, “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, which is essential to the delivery of carbon savings.”

10 Best-Selling Cars of Q1 2022 As Per SMMT Data

1: Ford Fiesta (73,851 sales)

2: Vauxhall Corsa (61,236)

3: Volkswagen Golf (56,787)

4: Ford Focus (56,250)

5: Vauxhall Astra (43,527)

6: Mini (41,831)

7: BMW 3 Series (40,965)

8: Volkswagen Polo (35,777)

9: Audi A3 (30,085)

10: BMW 1 Series (30,024)

Source: CarDealerMagazine