Transactions of used battery electric vehicles rose 32% to 86,943 units in the first quarter of 2025 in an otherwise flat market down -0.2% to 2,016,232 vehicles.
The performance ended a 12-quarter growth streak, reflecting a subdued March where transactions fell -2.3%.
This is in comparison to an exceptionally high performance in March 2025, the only March exceeding 700,000 sales since 2017.2
Nearly one in 23 buyers (4.3%) made the switch, up from around one in 30 last year.
Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) sales rose by 27.6% to 128,039 units, increasing their market share to 6.4%, while plug-in hybrid (PHEV) transactions fell by -8.9% to 20,021 units, comprising 1.0% of the market.
Combined, electrified vehicles accounted for 11.7% of used cars finding new owners in Q1.
Petrol remained the best-selling fuel type, despite transactions falling -0.6% to 1,147,969 units, while diesel demand experienced a -6.7% decline to 629,987 units, reflecting reduced supply from the new car market. Even so, conventionally fuelled cars still accounted for 88.2% of total transactions in the first quarter.
Supermini sales fell -1.0%, but at 648,229 units remained the most popular used purchase, accounting for 32.2% of the market.
Lower medium was the next biggest segment, with 546,249 units changing hands, an increase of 0.2% to a 27.1% share. Dual purpose vehicles saw the highest growth, up 5.4% to 357,295 units, while multipurpose vehicles experienced the sharpest decline, of -6.5%, to 69,886 units.
Following the trend in the new car market, black and grey remained the best-selling colours, up 0.4% and 2.8%.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, “The UK’s used car market remained flat in the first quarter, held back by weakness in March in comparison with a very strong performance in 2025.
“Better news is the record demand for used electric vehicles, as growing choice from manufacturers feeds through into the second-hand market.
“High fuel prices, given the conflict in Iran, may increase demand even further, but to maintain this momentum, every fiscal and policy lever must be pulled to ensure a healthy new car market that delivers zero emission vehicles that can in future flow through to the used market.”
