Used car best-sellers: looks like the UK's not ready to say goodbye to the Ford Fiesta

Discontinued supermini lives on in the hearts and mind of used car market punters

The Ford Fiesta is the UK’s best-selling used car. In data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the humble supermini – now out of production – trumped all other models for the top spot, selling almost 80,000 examples. And there’s good news for used electric cars, too.

Like the new car market, the UK’s secondhand car market is showing good numbers in terms of growth. In September, it peaked with a 6.3 per cent increase. And, for the third consecutive quarter, volume is up, averaging a 5.5 per cent shift and bringing the year-to-date uplift to 4.6 per cent.

What’s more, with more supply available the number of second-hand electric cars changing hands has doubled. That means pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) now account for 1.8 per cent share of the used market (up from one per cent).

There’s even good news for those mixing electrification and internal combustion. Hybrid choices – both plug-in and regular hybrid – are growing sales over 34 and 36 per cent, respectively.

Mike Hawes, SMMT boss, said: «The used car market continues to grow strongly, with re-energised supply unlocking demand for pre-owned electric vehicles – the result being twice as many motorists switching to zero emission motoring in the quarter.

“Maintaining this momentum requires growth in the new car market, to boost supply to the used sector and cement this success. Equally important is the urgent need for charging infrastructure rollout so that all drivers can have confidence in being able to charge whenever and wherever they need.»

The Top 10 models in Q3 2023:
1. Ford Fiesta — 79,756
2. Vauxhall Corsa — 61,290
3. Volkswagen Golf — 58,928
4. Ford Focus — 58,431
5. Vauxhall Astra — 41,898
6. Mini — 40,811
7. BMW 3 Series — 39,762
8. Volkswagen Polo — 36,398
9. Audi A3 — 31,496
10. BMW 1 Series — 29,959

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