The sale of second-hand battery electric cars rose 67.0% to 110,761 units in the second quarter, the SMMT has reported.

This is the strongest quarterly growth since Q1 2024. Demand rose particularly sharply in April and May (up 110.9% and 57.6% respectively compared with 37.8% in June), which the SMMT says coincided with fuel price rises linked to the Middle East conflict and was set against a relatively weak performance last year when VED changes came into effect.

Between April and June, more than one in 18 buyers (5.5%) made the switch, up from around one in 30 (3.3%) a year ago, reflecting the growing choice of models entering the market.

Hybrid electric vehicle sales also rose, up 31.2% to 130,825 units, increasing their market share to 6.5% from 5.0% in the same period last year. Plug-in hybrid transactions, meanwhile, fell by -6.8% to 22,856 units, accounting for 1.1% of overall demand, down from 1.2% in 2025.

Overall, the UK's used car market returned to growth in the second quarter, up 0.7% as 2,009,318 vehicles changed hands.

Petrol remained the most popular fuel type, despite transactions falling by -1.2% to 1,121,243, while diesel sales continued to decline, down -7.2% to 620,045, reflecting shorter supply from the new car market. Even so, almost nine in 10 (86.7%) buyers still chose conventionally fuelled cars in the quarter.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: "A return to growth is good news for motorists and the wider automotive sector, with sales of used EVs rising particularly strongly as more choice reaches more buyers. As the used market is where most people buy their cars, plentiful and affordable supply is vital, however, increasingly unrealistic targets in the new car market risk constraining that supply and pushing up costs. Urgent regulatory reform is needed to deliver a transition that works for every driver."