The UK used car market returned to growth in the second quarter of 2026, with more than two million vehicles changing hands between April and June. A total of 2,009,318 used cars were sold during the quarter, representing a 0.7% increase compared with the same period in 2025.

It was the first second quarter since 2021 in which used car transactions exceeded two million units. Volumes were also just 1.2% below pre-pandemic levels.

The stronger Q2 result helped offset the slight decline recorded at the beginning of the year. Across the first six months of 2026, the market grew by 0.2%, reaching 4,025,550 transactions.

Electric cars post the strongest growth

Battery electric vehicles were the standout performer during the quarter.

Transactions involving used EVs jumped by 67% year on year to 110,761 units, marking the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Demand was particularly strong in April, when transactions rose by 110.9%, while May recorded growth of 57.6%. In June, the increase slowed to 37.8%.

The rise coincided with higher fuel prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East, while buyers also benefited from a growing selection of electric models entering the second-hand market.

As a result, EVs reached a record 5.5% share of used car transactions in Q2. A year earlier, their share stood at 3.3%. That means more than one in every 18 buyers chose a fully electric used car during the quarter.

Hybrid demand also rises

Hybrid electric vehicles also performed strongly.

Used hybrid transactions increased by 31.2% to 130,825 units. Their market share climbed from 5% in Q2 2025 to 6.5% this year.

Plug-in hybrids moved in the opposite direction. Transactions fell by 6.8% to 22,856 vehicles, while their market share slipped from 1.2% to 1.1%.

The figures show that electrified vehicles are becoming more important in the second-hand market, although demand is developing differently across individual powertrain types.

Petrol and diesel still dominate

Despite rapid EV growth, petrol and diesel cars continue to account for the overwhelming majority of used vehicle purchases.

Petrol remained the most popular fuel type, with 1,121,243 transactions during the second quarter. That was 1.2% lower than a year earlier.

Diesel sales fell more sharply, dropping by 7.2% to 620,045 units.

Together, petrol and diesel cars still represented 86.7% of the entire used car market. This underlines how gradual the transition to electrified vehicles remains, despite the strong percentage gains recorded by EVs.

Ford Fiesta remains the most popular model

The Ford Fiesta retained its position as Britain’s most popular used car, with 73,570 transactions in the quarter.

The Vauxhall Corsa ranked second with 59,247 sales, followed by the Volkswagen Golf with 55,786.

The top ten also included the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Polo, MINI, Nissan Qashqai, BMW 3 Series, Vauxhall Astra and Audi A3.

The ranking continues to show the importance of compact and relatively affordable models in the used market.

Crossovers gain ground

Superminis remained the UK’s most popular used car category, accounting for 31.7% of demand. Volumes increased slightly by 0.2%.

The lower medium segment followed with a 26.6% share and the same 0.2% growth rate.

However, dual-purpose vehicles, a category that includes many crossovers and SUVs, recorded the strongest increase. Transactions rose by 7.4%, giving the segment a 17.7% share of the market.

Black, grey and white dominate

Buyers also continued to favour neutral colours.

More than 1.13 million used cars sold during Q2 were black, grey or white. Together, these three colours represented 56.5% of all transactions.

Black remained the most common choice with 423,238 sales, followed by grey with 377,108 and white with 334,190.

Blue ranked fourth despite a 1.1% decline, while silver stayed in fifth place even after transactions fell by 6.4%.

A changing but still traditional market

The return to overall growth is a positive sign for the UK automotive sector, but the most significant development is the acceleration of used EV sales.

More electric cars are now reaching the second-hand market, expanding choice and making them available to a wider group of buyers. At the same time, petrol and diesel models still dominate by a very large margin.