The soon-to-be-axed Ford Fiesta topped the UK used car sales in 2022 amid another disappointing year for the market in which over 640,000 fewer cars changed hands than in 2021.
Seen as surplus to requirements by its US maker – which is scrambling to save cash after posting a $2 billion (£1.65bn) loss in 2022 – the Fiesta will exit production this summer but it is still a favourite among the British public, with 288,639 used examples changing hands in 2022. Its closest challenger, the Vauxhall Corsa, recorded 229,454 used sales.
Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed a mixed year for the country’s used car market, with an 8.5% overall decline on 2021 (to 6,890,777) – and 13.2% down on pre-pandemic 2019 – bolstered by a record year for pure-electric transactions.
The EV segment bucked the overall trend, with 71,071 cars swapping hands, a rise of 37.5%. This figure also meant an increase in its overall market share to 1%, from 0.7% in 2021.
This rise cemented pure-electric cars as a more popular option than their plug-in hybrid counterparts, which recorded a small, 3.6% rise in sales (to 55,053). Mild-hybrid sales remained strongest, up 8.5% to 155,055.
However, electrified vehicles represented just 4.1% of the market (up from 3.3% in 2021). While transactions of used diesel and petrol cars fell by 11.8% and 7.7% respectively, they remained the dominant powertrains, with a combined 6,594,880 cars sold.
The SMMT blamed the overall market’s decline on a lack of cars trickling into the used car market, a direct result of the new car market being impacted by the global shortage of semiconductors.
There was cause for optimism in December's figures, when sales increased by 0.8% – the first monthly rise since February. Although only a small increase, it was hailed as significant by SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
This was backed by news that Q4 (1 October – 31 December), despite falling 4.3%, was less of a decline than the previous quarters: Q2 down 18.8%, Q3 down 12.2%.
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Someone at Autocar really should challenge these numbers, or the spin that is put on them by the SMMT. Second hand car sales have a lot to do with what is registered new. EV sales are up on new cars. people wont own them forever, so they get sold, and if there are more of them, there will be more second hand sales too. That does NOT mean second hand EV sales are more popular, just that if you get the price right you can sell anything. I am sure the shortgae of new cars meaning less pre reg going on for petrol and diesel also effects their numbers, whereas manufacturers are prioritising cars with low CO2 to avoid fines. None of this means they are more popular. It might even be a sign of the complete opposite!