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Used electric car sales helped push total secondhand sales to a third consecutive year of growth, with 7,807,872 cars being bought and sold in the UK in 2025.
EVs accounted for a new high of 274,815 sales, with buyers taking advantage of ever more affordable prices and confidence over the proven longevity of used electric cars and their batteries.
Record growth of 45.7 per cent meant used EVs took 3.5 per cent of the total car market, with the sales of used plug-in hybrid models also increasing, by 6.3 per cent to 88,032 cars. Meanwhile, secondhand sales of non-plug-in hybrids grew by 28.6 per cent to 407,531, meaning total used electrified car transactions accounted for nearly ten per cent of all used car purchases at 770,378.
Commenting on the 2025 used car sales figures, Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “A third year of used car sales growth underscores the market’s resilience, with recovering new car demand revitalising choice and affordability – especially for EVs – in the used market. The record number of buyers making the switch signals growing confidence in zero and ultra-low emission motoring. Maintaining this momentum, however, and driving the fleet renewal needed to decarbonise our roads at pace, must start with ensuring a strong and sustainable new car market.”
Britain’s most popular used car remains the Ford Fiesta with a whopping 303,090 swapping owners last year, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa at 247,853 and the Volkswagen Golf at 226,082. Unsurprisingly superminis accounted for nearly a third of all used car transactions last year.
When it comes to car colours, black remains the most popular used car colour with 1,658,450 black cars changing hands in 2025. Grey was the second most popular used car colour, with white in third place.
Despite a national preference for understated colours, 5,279 pink used cars were sold in 2025, while the least popular colour was maroon with just 4,697 sales. The fastest rising colour amongst used car sales was green, which saw a 9.1 per cent growth compared to the previous year, to 136,742 cars.
Drivers are showing more confidence in buying a used electric car as worries about the longevity of EVs fade away. Batteries are lasting longer than expected – as our drive of a 250,000-mile nine-year-old Tesla that still had 84 per cent if its original capacity showed – and are covered by at least eight years of manufacturer warranty. Reliability is also proving to be strong for EVs, with far fewer moving parts and less maintenance required.
Prices are also becoming more stable in the used electric car market, as the Independent EV Price Index showed, but used EV buyers can still take advantage of steep initial depreciation on many models.
