Used car prices continue to grow and show no signs of slowing

With the new car market struggling to keep pace with orders because of the semiconductor crisis, the used car market continues to see rapid growth that shows no signs of slowing.

The latest figures from online marketplace Auto Trader shows that the average price of a used car was £19,018 last week, a massive year-on-year increase of 23.9 per cent.

It marks the 76th consecutive week of price growth, and a fourfold increase on the 5.7 per cent year-on-year figures for April 12, when dealers first reopened following the last pandemic lockdown.

This growth is partly being fuelled by a huge increase in demand, which was up 19 per cent based on searches and advert views on the Auto Trader website, compared with pre-pandemic figures in 2019.

On top of increased prices, cars are selling quicker, too. Last week, the average time for stock to leave forecourts was 23 days, 17 per cent faster than in April.

Auto Trader’s data and insights director, Richard Walker, said: “With so much attention focussed on inflation right now, there’s huge interest amongst economists on those components that are recording substantial price rises, not least used cars which have been a notable driver of recent UK inflation rates.

“With levels of used car price growth once again smashing previous records, there is a lot of speculation around how long this boom could last. Whilst inflation in itself does pose a potential risk to consumer demand, we don’t expect to see price growth slow anytime soon.”

The Jaguar XK saw the biggest price increase last week, with the average asking price being £28,505, up 46 per cent. This was followed by the Hyundai i30 at £12,605 (+42 per cent) and the Ford Focus at £14,118 (+39 per cent).