Hybrid cars overtake petrol in used car market as consumers start EV shift

The used car market is experiencing a major shift towards hybrid vehicles, as detailed in the latest Indicata Market Watch report.

In July, Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicles (MHEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) made up nearly one in three (30.8%) of sales for used cars up to four years old.

This growth has come at the expense of petrol cars, whose market share dropped significantly -falling by over 10% from 59.8% in January 2023 to 49.4% in July 2024.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are also gaining traction, with their market share rising to 9.4% in July. The drop in prices is enticing more consumers to purchase used EVs, with over 40% of used car purchases in July being either hybrids or EVs.

 The growing popularity of EVs is further highlighted by the Audi e-tron and MG ZS EV topping Indicata’s list of the fastest-selling used cars in July.

Meanwhile, diesel cars continue to see a decline, with their market share hitting a record low of 10.3% in July. By the end of the year, EVs are expected to surpass diesel vehicles in popularity.

Dean Merritt, head of sales at Autorola UK, said: “Drivers have increasingly been switching to hybrids, particularly those not yet ready to fully transition to EVs.

“Hybrids, like EVs, are part of the seismic change currently underway in the used car market, as consumers embrace the opportunity to move away from traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.”