8:05 am, September 9, 2026
The UK used car market enjoyed a strong month in August, with volumes increasing for every dealer segment for the first time this year.
That is according to new data from Autotrader, which found transactions increased year-on-year across franchise, independent and supermarket retailers.
The automotive marketplace says used car sales volumes increased by an average of 2.6% year-on-year last month, as the average used car asking price dipped slightly to £17,131.
Cars were also selling in an average of 30 days, unchanged from August 2025 and one day quicker than in July.
August was the first month this year in which all three major retail channels recorded transaction growth.
Autotrader said the combination of stable retail prices, quick stock turn and rising transactions should give dealers confidence in the market going forward.
When it came to prices, it was actually younger used cars that were the main source of downward price pressure, with one-to-three-year-old models falling 1.8% year-on-year.
Autotrader suggested increasingly competitive new car offers could be putting pressure on nearly-new stock.
Older cars proved more resilient, however, with three-to-10-year-old vehicles recording moderate price growth.
Cars aged between 10 and 15 years were the strongest-performing age group, with like-for-like prices rising 6.9% to an average £7,183.
Cars more than 15 years old also increased in value, rising 2.6%.
EVs continued to stand out, meanwhile, with used electric car prices recording their third consecutive month of annual growth.
Like-for-like EV values increased 3.8% year-on-year and 0.5% month-on-month to £25,095.
The strongest performance came from three-to-five-year-old electric cars, which rose 9.4% year-on-year and 1.4% month-on-month to £20,351.
Those cars were also turning particularly quickly, taking an average of 26 days to sell compared with 27 days for used EVs overall.
Marc Palmer, head of strategy and insights at Autotrader, said: “August’s data points to a used car market with real underlying momentum.
‘Prices remain stable, cars are selling quickly, and transaction volumes are growing across franchise, independent and supermarket retailers for the first time this year.
‘That combination should give retailers real confidence that demand remains strong, and critically, that current retail price levels are continuing to convert into sales.’
Palmer added that dealers should not allow short-term wholesale movements to dictate their retail pricing.
‘Buyers are still active, stock is turning, and there are clear pockets of profit potential in electric vehicles and older cars in particular,’ he said.
‘For retailers sourcing well in a softer wholesale market, this presents a clear margin opportunity: buy more competitively, price to the live retail market, and avoid giving away profit by pulling advertised prices down unnecessarily.’