11:28 am, June 2, 2025
Electric car prices took a tumble in May and that’s resulted in increased demand on Auto Trader’s website, according to its latest data.
Overall, used car prices were stable in May 2025 although they did dip slightly with the average price of a vehicle at £16,825, down 0.7%.
But in the electric car market, consumer demand grew by 31% year-on-year, while prices fell 7.4%. EVs aged 3-5 years old saw the biggest price drop, down 11.6% to an average of £18,266, making a used EV of this age cheaper than a petrol model (£18,731).
The cars that saw prices drop the most in May (full list below) was littered with electric cars, with the BMW i5 top of the table with prices down 21.2%.
Meanwhile, consumer demand across the used car market rose by 1% last month and that builds even further on the 10% rise seem in May 2024.
The number of used car sales completed during the month was also up around 1%, although this was felt more at independent dealerships where sales were up 4.2% compared to franchised dealerships where used car sales were down 1.8%.
This is likely due to an increase in demand for older cars, with the data from Auto Trader showing demand for cars over 10 years old was up 10.4%, with price up 2.6% year-on-year.
Those used cars aged 5-10 years old also saw demand grow 4.5% and prices up 1.4%.
Demand dropped for cars only 1-3 years old, down 2.4%, while 3-5 year old cars were down 9.1%.
Marc Palmer, head of strategy and insights, at Auto Trader, said: ‘Although a slight softening on the strong first quarter of the year, we’ve seen a flatter but nonetheless robust used car market so far in Q2.
‘Retail prices are stable, demand is healthy, cars are selling at pace, and on our platform, we’re seeing huge volumes of highly engaged car buyers.
‘For those retailers able to source sufficient quantity and quality of in-demand stock, this is proving to be a strong combination, with overall transactions ahead of where they were last year.
‘The market may be very nuanced, but there are clearly areas of profit potential available, and so I’d urge retailers to make full use of the tools and data we’ve developed to spot the best opportunities for their forecourts.’
Top 10 used cars that increased in price – May 2025 vs May 2024
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Hyundai i30 – £8,942 (+12.5% YoY)
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Porsche 718 Cayman – £63,388 (+10.4% YoY)
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Mazda MX-5 – £10,760 (+9.2% YoY)
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Toyota Land Cruiser – £38,544 (+8.5% YoY)
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Lexus IS – £10,104 (+8.4% YoY)
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Volkswagen Golf SV – £10,845 (+7.7% YoY)
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Škoda Octavia – £12,937 (+7.5% YoY)
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Volkswagen Touareg – £30,615 (+7.1% YoY)
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Volvo S60 – £12,312 (+7.1% YoY)
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Kia Carens – £6,705 (+6.9% YoY)
Top 10 cars that dropped in price – May 2025 vs May 2024
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BMW i5 – £52,225 (−21.7% YoY)
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Nissan ARIYA – £30,649 (−19.0% YoY)
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BMW iX – £45,924 (−18.7% YoY)
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MINI Electric Hatch – £13,540 (−17.3% YoY)
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Tesla Model X – £33,792 (−16.6% YoY)
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Kia EV6 – £29,318 (−16.4% YoY)
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Tesla Model Y – £29,213 (−16.2% YoY)
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Jaguar I-PACE – £24,934 (−14.5% YoY)
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Audi e-tron – £23,146 (−12.8% YoY)
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Renault Zoe – £9,433 (−12.8% YoY)
