10:56 am, November 1, 2024
The used car market showed some positivity in October with retail prices increasing 1% month-on-month, despite the average sticker price falling since the same time last year.
This increase shows the market is in a much better place this autumn compared to a challenging end to 2023 and last October when prices were down slightly by 0.2%.
However, the average price of a used car also fell 7.4% year-on-year, which was the largest annual decline since December 2023.
Auto Trader reports continuing consumer demand in the market, while supply is still a challenge for car dealers.
Supply was down 5.6% in October year-on-year while demand increased for the fourth consecutive month – up 9.9% – according to Auto Trader’s data.
It also reported that its market health indicator was up 16.4% year-on-year.
Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s data & insights director, said: ‘It’s good to see retailers showing more confident pricing trends and following the supply and demand data, helping 2024 end on a far stronger note than 2023.
‘Last year, many retailers were unnerved by largely unwarranted price cuts in the wholesale market but thankfully today’s levels of demand, combined with continuing tightness of supply, mean that we haven’t seen that pattern repeated this year.’
The average price of a used petrol car saw the smallest decline in October, down -6.4% YoY at £14,699.
Diesels were down -7.1% at £14,066 and electric vehicles priced 13.4% lower at £26,819.
Auto Trader also reports plug-in hybrid average price was down 12.5% year-on-year at £30,834.
Used electric cars saw retail prices rise 2.1% month-on-month for the first time in two years, which Auto Trader says likely due to sustained demand throughout the year.
Speed of sale for the three to five-year-old electric segment sits at an impressive 19 days, one day faster than September and the fastest across all segments.
Walker added: ‘Solid market health indicators in the used electric market are a bright spot as we see overall BEV prices up month on month.
‘The three to five-year-old EV segment continues to lead the overall market in selling faster than all others.
‘We’re hopeful that as retailer confidence continues to grow in the second-hand electric segment, more and more will be ready to get involved and – as with all segments of the market – we’d urge all retailers to use data to make informed electric stocking decisions.’
