Used electric cars are flying off UK forecourts faster than any other fuel type this August, with buyers increasingly turning to three-to-five-year-old EVs as prices in that bracket climb sharply.
According to Autotrader’s latest figures, EVs are averaging just 25 days to sell this month, ahead of every other fuel type on the market. The pace is even sharper for the most in-demand cars: the petrol hybrid MG ZS currently tops the overall chart at 13.5 days, but two pure electric models, the Polestar 2 and the MG4, aren’t far behind at 17 days each. Between them, MG, Tesla and Polestar account for seven of August’s ten fastest-selling used cars.
The three-to-five-year-old EV segment is doing the heavy lifting. That age bracket makes up six of the top ten fastest sellers overall, and demand is now feeding directly into prices — the average three-to-five-year-old electric car cost £20,037 in July, compared with £18,731 for a petrol equivalent of the same age. Autotrader’s Retail Price Index shows like-for-like values for cars in that bracket rose 10.2% year-on-year in July, a notable turnaround for a market that not so long ago was seeing used EV prices fall as supply outpaced demand.
Marc Palmer, Autotrader’s head of strategy and insights, said the August figures highlight “the continued strength of the retail used car market,” with demand remaining “robust” and electric “the fastest-selling fuel type” on the platform. He added that the strongest demand is concentrated among three-to-five-year-old EVs specifically, “where greater affordability is helping drive some of the fastest sales in the market.”
For anyone buying or selling in this segment, the message is fairly clear: the used EV market has properly turned a corner, and cars that might once have sat on a forecourt for weeks are now moving in a fortnight or less. Sellers with well-priced stock in that three-to-five-year-old window are likely to see strong, quick demand for the rest of the year.
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