8:49 am, September 1, 2025
The used car market enjoyed a ‘stable’ month in August with prices, days to sell and stock levels all holding firm.
That is according to online marketplace Motors, which was published its latest Market View report into the state of the used car sector ninth month of the year.
Experts found that throughout the month, the average price of a used car on the Motors platform was £17,721 – a small year-on-year rise of 3%.
The figure was also slightly increased on July – when the average stood at £17,519 – representing a rise of 1.2%, or £202.
The growth was mostly driven by nearly new cars which increased 1.8% (£519) month-on-month from £29,092 to £29,611.
Meanwhile, dealer inventories held firm at just 49 units – the same as the same point last year and just two units down on the previous month.
Both car supermarkets (143 units) and franchised dealers (57 units) saw marginal dips for the month, while independents remained at the same level with an average of 39 units.
Elsewhere, electrified vehicles saw their market share rise with EVs growing to 6%, compared to 4% last August, and hybrids up from 9% to 11%. The figures mean that the two powertrains jointly accounted for 17% of used cars sold by dealers.
When it came to days to sell, dealers took an average of 30 days to shift cars in August – an improvement of just one day on both June and July.
Car supermarkets enjoyed the fastest sales at 20 days (compared to 22 in July), followed by franchised dealers at 23 days (compared to 25 in July). Despite this, independents saw a one day month-on-month increase from 46 to 47 days.
Responding to the data, Lucy Tugby, Marketing Director of Motors, said: ‘August marked a further month of stability for the used car market with our data showing dealers achieving encouraging stock turns despite the impact of school holiday and good summer weather.
‘With the 75 plate-change now underway franchised dealers will be looking to build up their inventories with retailable part-exchanges ahead of the final quarter.
‘Nearly new cars provided an August sweet spot for many dealers with strong prices accompanied by fast sales.’
As reported by Car Dealer over the weekend, the Citroen Berlingo MPV was the fastest selling used car in August.
The most searched for used car on Motors was the Ford Fiesta, which finished just ahead of the VW Golf and Ford Focus.
Petrol maintained its lead in ad views, increasing YoY from 50% to 53%, while diesel’s ongoing decline saw views drop from 44% to 36%.
The Market View also identified a levelling of Tesla prices after a succession of falls in 2024 and the year to date with MoM improvements for both the Model X (£27,848, up from £27,429) and Model 3 (£18,844, up from £18,680).
