Demand for second-hand electric vehicles falls in Q2 2020

Demand for pre-owned battery electric vehicles, which grew by 44.8% in the first quarter of 2020, declined in the second quarter, falling by -29.7% to 2,288 units, although their market share remained stable at 0.2%.

This is according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)

Overall, the UK’s used car market declined by -48.9% in the second quarter of 2020 with just 1,039,303 cars sold.

The pace of decline of the used car market eased as the quarter progressed, from a peak year on year loss of -74.2% in April to -17.5% in June, as private sellers and buyers came out of lockdown.

Sales of plug-in hybrids dropped -56.3%, with just 3,249 changing hands. Meanwhile, petrol and diesel car transactions decreased by -49.2% and -48.5% respectively, although combined they still accounted for 98.3% of sales in the quarter, equivalent to 1,021,963 units.

Despite a fall of -52.4%, superminis remained the most popular used buy with 316,570 finding new owners in Q2, representing 30.5% of the market. All segments saw a decline with luxury saloons faring best with a slightly more modest -30.4% decrease. Black remained the most popular colour choice with 227,660 units sold, closely followed by silver/aluminium, blue, grey and white.

In the first six months of 2020, used car transactions were down by -28.7%, with 2.89 million units changing hands. The second quarter represented more than 85% of the 1.16 million lost sales so far this year.