Used car prices have RISEN in September with electric cars going up the most, according to the latest data from Cap HPI.

The valuations experts said trade prices of the benchmark three-year-old used cars went up 0.2% in the month.

Electric cars were the best performing fuel type and rose 1% – the first time they have risen in value in two years.

Cap HPI director of valuations Derren Martin told Car Dealer Live (video above) that some EVs have now fallen well below their petrol and diesel equivalents and look great value to buyers.

Martin said: ‘A lot of those electric vehicles are now really good value. They move quicker off forecourts – we’re looking at them selling within 25 days, especially at that three-year-old, under 20k price point. 

‘That’s a real sort of sweet spot. And I think more dealers will see these opportunities and dip in.’

Biggest falling used car prices

Source: Cap HPI, September 2024

1. Mercedes-Benz E Class Cabriolet -6.0% (£1,783)
2. BMW 2 Series Convertible -5.9% (£940)
3. Peugeot Rifter Electric -5.9% (£1,021)
4. Genesis G80 Electric -5.1% (£1,950)
5. Volkswagen Caddy Life -5.0% (£993)
6. Ssangyong Korando Diesel -5.0% (£466)
7. Nissan eNV200 -5.0% (£756)
8. Citroen Berlingo Multispace Diesel -5.0% (£777)
9. Mercedes-Benz C Class Cabriolet Diesel -5.0% (£1,122)
10. Genesis GV70 Electric -4.9% (£1,833)

Martin said Cap HPI’s data shows only around 15% of UK independent car dealers stock used EVs and less than half of franchised car dealers.

Petrol cars went up 0.1%, diesel cars were up 0.2% and hybrids were up 0.6% in September.

Martin added: ‘All of the fuel types have registered an increase. So there’s nothing that’s kind of not in demand. 

‘Hybrids have gone up as well. They are still a good halfway house for those not ready to go completely EV. 

‘Petrol vehicles have been strong over the whole summer and continue to be so, but EVs stand out because of two years of drops. They lost 60% of their value in that time.’

Biggest rising used car prices

Source: Cap HPI, September 2024

1. Mazda CX-5 Diesel 6.0% (£1,133)
2. Jeep Compass Diesel 5.8% (£675)
3. BMW i3 5.0% (£644)
4. Peugeot 208 Electric 4.8% (£502)
5. Alfa Romeo Giulietta Diesel 4.2% (£420)
6. Kia e-Niro Electric 4.1% (£612)
7. Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Hybrid 4.1% (£1006)
8. Land Rover Discovery Sport 4.0% (£966)
9. Nissan Leaf 4.0% (£376)
10. Vauxhall Corsa Electric 4.0% (£357)

Martin said the real strength in the used car market was currently with sub-£15k cars – especially around the £8-9k mark.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, he predicted that used car values would drop slightly, but not by much.

He added: ‘I don’t think they’ll go up. I think they will be stronger than normal. Seasonality values tend to drop around this time. 

‘We’re predicting a small drop in October, but every month this year has been stronger than the seasonal average and we’re predicting that to happen again. 

‘Last year, values dropped by 10.5% in the next three months – we’re predicting a drop of maybe 2%, something like that. 

‘So overall, if that happens, you would be looking at a used car being worth more at the end of the year than the equivalent age of mileage used car at the start of the year, which is unusual.’

Martin said there was no reason for this stability to continue in 2025, either, with supply of used cars still restricted.

He said: ‘Overall, we are predicting a strong year next year, but the ZEV Mandate remains the fly in the ointment, and discounting around that could see cars get pushed. Will pre reg sort of reappear in bigger numbers? And at the end of the day, the market is dependent on responsible remarketing.’

• Car Dealer Weekly Briefing: Read our editor’s take on the news
• Join our breaking news WhatsApp group
• Sign up for daily email Car Dealer news bulletins
• Listen to the latest Car Dealer Podcast
• Read the latest digital issue of Car Dealer Magazine

The post Used car prices RISE in September as EVs lead the charge with 1% surge appeared first on Car Dealer Magazine.