What the UK's used car sales figures reveal about the market
The used market just broke two million quarterly sales for the first time since 2021. The best-sellers list shows exactly what buyers are actually choosing.
Two million sales, for the first time in years
The UK used car market quietly hit a milestone in the second quarter of 2026: 2,009,318 transactions, a 0.7% rise on the same period last year and the first time quarterly used sales have topped two million since 2021. It's not a dramatic recovery — the market is still 1.2% below pre-pandemic levels — but it's a sign the used sector is settling into steadier growth after a rough few years of supply shortages and rising prices.
What's more useful than the headline number is what people are actually buying. Carwow's rundown of the ten best-selling used cars of the quarter is a good reality check against the launches and concept cars that dominate motoring headlines.
The list nobody's surprised by
Eight of the top ten best-selling used cars in Q2 were hatchbacks, led comfortably by the Ford Fiesta on 73,570 sales, with the Vauxhall Corsa (59,247) and Volkswagen Golf (55,786) close behind. The Ford Focus, Volkswagen Polo, Mini Cooper, Nissan Qashqai, BMW 3 Series, Vauxhall Astra and Audi A3 round out the rest. Superminis alone account for 31.7% of all Q2 sales.
None of this will shock anyone who's spent time browsing listings — these are the cars that were sold new in huge volumes five to ten years ago, and they're now cycling through the used market in equally large numbers. The Fiesta topping the chart is notable given Ford stopped building it in 2023; the used market runs on a lag, and that lag is currently favouring small, cheap-to-run, easy-to-insure cars.
The one shift worth flagging: SUV purchases were up 7.4% on the quarter, the strongest growth of any body style. Hatchbacks still dominate by volume, but the direction of travel is toward taller, bigger cars — which tracks with what's happened in the new car market for the best part of a decade now finally filtering through to used stock.
Fuel mix is moving, just not as fast as the headlines suggest
Petrol remains comfortably the most common fuel type in used sales, at 55.8% of the market, even after a small 1.2% dip. Diesel had a rougher quarter, down 7.2% to 620,045 transactions — AM-online's coverage of the SMMT figures links that fall to weaker diesel supply coming through from the new car market in recent years, rather than a sudden loss of buyer appetite.
Hybrids had the strongest quarter of any powertrain, up 31.2% to 130,825 units and now 6.5% of the market. Used electric car sales also grew fast in percentage terms — up 67% to 110,761 units — though that's still only 5.5% of overall used transactions, growing from a much smaller base. SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes called it encouraging, noting that “plentiful and affordable supply is vital” to keeping that momentum going, while warning that new car market targets risk constraining the supply that feeds the used market a few years down the line.
Put together, petrol and diesel still account for 86.7% of every used car sold in the UK last quarter. The used market moves at the pace of what was sold new several years ago, not at the pace of this month's headlines.
What this means for you
If you're selling a mainstream hatchback or small hybrid right now, you're selling into genuine demand — the volume at the top of this list isn't a fluke, it's where the bulk of buyer interest actually sits. If you're buying, it's worth remembering that popularity cuts both ways: the most in-demand models hold their value better, but you'll also be competing with more buyers for the best examples, so a car a rung or two down the popularity list can mean less competition and a better deal for a similar spec. And if diesel still suits your mileage, don't be put off by the year-on-year dip — it reflects shrinking supply reaching the used market, not shrinking buyer interest.