The UK used car market sold 2,133,956 cars in the first quarter of 2017 to achieve the highest Q1 sales on record, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Quarter one sales rose by 3.4% on Q1 2016’s figure of 2,063,674 cars. By fuel type, diesel sales increased by 5.6% year-on-year in Q1, and petrol sales increased by 1.6% over the same period.

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The SMMT found that approximately 20% of the 851,569 used diesel cars conformed to the Euro-6 emissions standards.

The share of alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) increased to 1% from 0.7% in the first quarter of 2016, boosted by a 43.2% year-on-year increase in registrations.

Super mini cars were the most popular segment, representing more than a third of used sales, while minis increased sales by 13.2% year-on-year in Q1.

By colour, silver remained the most popular colour of used car representing 463,959 of the 2.1m sold in Q1 2017, despite experiencing a slight sales decline of 2.1%. White cars saw a sales increase of 17.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year.

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The Ford Fiesta remained the most popular model, with 101,840 transactions in Q1, closely followed by the Ford Focus with 94,899 sales. The South East saw the most used car sales, with 317,787 transactions in Q1.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “A buoyant used car market combined with strong residual values is good news for the sector, with motorists benefitting from the wide range of models and high-tech safety and connected features entering the market.

“To ensure this growth is maintained and the benefits of low emission vehicles spread quickly throughout society, continued investment in infrastructure, incentives and a tax regime that encourages demand is essential.”