UK used automotive market stability predicted to ship 7.64m items this yr
Cox Automotive is predicting a used automotive market of seven.64 million items within the UK this yr because of continued stability and the information feeding in from new automotive market forecasting.
Whereas this represents a flat year-on-year efficiency, it stays 3.6% above the long-term common from 2001 to 2019, reinforcing the used market’s position as a stabilising pressure amid wider business volatility.
Regardless of ongoing provide challenges, notably for autos aged three to 5 years, the market is exhibiting indicators of resilience.
Provide constraints anticipated to ease in H2
Provide constraints, largely a legacy of pandemic-era manufacturing slowdowns, are anticipated to ease within the second half of the yr, providing retailers renewed alternatives to satisfy constant shopper demand.
Stabilisation of commerce values
An extra optimistic sign for the business is the continued stabilisation of commerce values.
Cox now sees values returning to extra typical seasonal patterns, notably for petrol and diesel fashions. Taking a look at autos aged between 24 and 72 months outdated, values have remained constant over the earlier 18 months. Particularly, petrol values stayed flat – 60% of authentic price new (OCN) in April 2025 versus 60% in October 2023 – a marked distinction from the 6% dip that petrol autos noticed between October 2022 and October 2023. In the meantime, hybrid values declined by solely 4% in the identical interval and diesel by 7%.
Philip Nothard, perception director at Cox Automotive, stated: “The used market continues to supply a significant anchor for the automotive sector.
“As commerce values stabilise and shopper urge for food for inexpensive autos stays sturdy, retailers have a transparent alternative to set strong retail costs, the place market situations assist them, and maximise their margins.
“Strategic inventory choice and robust retail pricing shall be essential to sustaining profitability in a supply-constrained setting.”
The industrial automobile sector additionally stays strong.
Diesel continues to dominate, however electrical vans are gaining floor, with a 62.6% improve in arrivals at Manheim websites in Q1 2025.
Nevertheless, infrastructure issues and price sensitivity proceed to restrict purchaser confidence, with solely 4 in 10 electrical vans promoting first time.
