Used electric vehicle sales rose 32% in March, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
It has reported that there were 86,943 used electric vehicle transactions in the month, accounting for 4.3% of all sales.
Meanwhile, hybrid electric vehicle sales rose by 27.6% to 128,039 units, increasing their market share to 6.4%, while plug-in hybrid (PHEV) transactions fell by 8.9% to 20,021 units.
Combined, electrified vehicles accounted for 11.7% of used cars finding new owners in the first quarter.
This growth helped the wider used car market remain stable in the first quarter of the year, down just 0.2% to 2,016,232 units compared to the same period in 2025.
Petrol remained the best-selling fuel type with 1,147,969 transactions, down 0.6%, while diesel sales fell 6.7% to 629,987 units.
Annual growth
The SMMT is now predicting the used car market to rise 3.6% to 2.093 million this year, although the electrified vehicle share has been downgraded to 26.8%, from 28.5%.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The UK’s used car market remained flat in the first quarter, held back by weakness in March in comparison with a very strong performance in 2025. Better news is the record demand for used electric vehicles, as growing choice from manufacturers feeds through into the second-hand market.
“High fuel prices, given the conflict in Iran, may increase demand even further, but to maintain this momentum, every fiscal and policy lever must be pulled to ensure a healthy new car market that delivers the zero emission vehicles in volume to flow through to the used market.”
