After the end of the Covid-19 lockdown in Great Britain, the used car trade has soared to a record level. The industry association SMMT announced in London that around 2.2 million vehicles were sold between April and June. That is the highest known value in this period. Compared to the same period of the previous year, sales more than doubled, compared to the pre-Covid year 2019 by 6.6 percent.

The reason for the enormous demand is the low number of new cars, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). As a result of the pandemic and the global shortage of semiconductors, car manufacturers could have produced significantly less in the past few months. This is welcome news for the industry, said SMMT boss Mike Hawes. A lively used car market is also necessary to maintain good resale values, which in turn support new car purchases.

Distrust of public transport

“More and more drivers are turning to used cars as the shortage of supply continues to affect the new car market and the need for personal mobility increases,” said Hawes. “People remain suspicious of public transport when they return to work.”

Almost all used cars – 96.4 percent – were conventionally motorized, according to the SMMT. Sales of used electric vehicles and hybrids tripled. However, the increase here was well below the proportion of alternative drives in new vehicles.

(fpi)