Britain’s used car market had a slower but relatively solid start to the year, with sales surpassing 2 million in the first three months, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
It reported 2,031,661 vehicles changed hands, a -4.8% (-102,295 units) year-on-year decline compared with Q1 2017.
Demand for petrol engine cars fell -9.7%, as diesel registrations rose 2.0% and interest in alternatively fuelled vehicles grew 15.9%, with some 24,697 hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars finding a new owner.
In particular, zero emission electric cars enjoyed a surge in popularity, with demand rising 33.8% to 2,927 units, followed by hybrids, which rose 14.1%.
Together they represented 1.2% of all used car transactions in the quarter, while petrol fuelled models took a 55.9% market share and diesel 42.8%.