LONDON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) — Britain’s used car market expanded for the 11th consecutive quarter between July and September, with battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales hitting record levels, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said Monday.
Used car transactions rose 2.8 percent year on year to more than 2.02 million units in the third quarter, the strongest Q3 performance since 2021. The growth was supported by improving new car supply, which increased availability in the second-hand market.
Petrol models remained the most popular, with sales up 1.9 percent to 1.15 million units, while diesel sales fell 2.8 percent to 659,000. Internal combustion engine cars accounted for just under 90 percent of trades, slightly lower than a year ago.
Sales of electrified vehicles surged. Hybrid transactions jumped 30 percent to over 107,000, plug-in hybrids rose 2 percent to 23,500, and BEV sales soared 44.4 percent to 80,614, a record 4 percent share of the market, equal to one in every 25 buyers choosing fully electric.
More than 99,000 cars under a year old were sold in the quarter, about a third of them electrified, with many coming from Employee Car Ownership Schemes (ECOS).
SMMT warned that plans to end company car tax exemptions for ECOS could cut annual new car registrations by 80,000, threaten 5,000 jobs, and cost the government around 500 million pounds (659 million U.S. dollars) in lost revenue.
“Used EV uptake is at a record high, and a strong second-hand market is essential to making electrified mobility affordable,” said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes. “But scrapping ECOS exemptions risks undermining both consumer choice and government income.”
The group also cautioned that possible pay-per-mile taxation for electric cars could discourage adoption and slow progress toward net zero.
The average age of vehicles on British roads has risen to 9.5 years from eight in 2019, underscoring the need for continued fleet renewal, SMMT said. (1 British pound = 1.32 U.S. dollar)
