Cox Automotive reveal a steady outlook for the UK’s used car market, predicting 7.64 million transactions this year.
This forecast remains 3.6% above the long-term average from 2001 to 2019, highlighting the used market’s role as a ‘stabilising force’.
Philip Nothard, insight director at Cox Automotive, said: “The used market continues to provide a vital anchor for the automotive sector.
“As trade values stabilise and consumer appetite for affordable vehicles remains strong, retailers have a clear opportunity to set robust retail prices, where market conditions support them, and maximise their margins.
“Strategic stock selection and strong retail pricing will be crucial to sustaining profitability in a supply-constrained environment.”
Supply constraints, largely a legacy of pandemic-era production slowdowns, are expected to ease in the second half of the year.
Another positive is the stabilisation of trade values which are returning to typical seasonal patterns.
Of vehicles aged between 24 and 72 months old, values have remained consistent over the previous 18 months.
Petrol values stayed flat – 60% of original cost new (OCN) in April 2025 versus 60% in October 2023. This is a distinct difference from the 6% dip that petrol vehicles experienced between October 2022 and October 2023.
Diesel values decline by 7% and hybrid values declined by just 4% in the same period.
Diesel dominates the commercial vehicle sector, but there has been a 62.6% increase in electric van arrivals at Manheim sites in Q1 2025.
