According to the report, the sharp rise in values of used cars was driven by increased customer engagement in BCA’s online sales programme Credit: Pormezz / Shutterstock.

The UK’s used car market saw a “strong” start to 2025, with the average price of vehicles sold at British Car Auctions (BCA) climbing to £8,042 ($10,114) in January.

This represents a 9.4% or £688 increase month-on-month and a 5.9% or a £445 rise compared to January 2024.

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According to the report, the sharp rise in values was driven by increased customer engagement in BCA’s online sales programme, sustaining demand across the wider used car market.

BCA reported a record-breaking start to the year, with new benchmarks set for the highest number of individual buyers in a week, the strongest weekly sold volume in three and a half years, and the highest-ever weekly sales of EVs [electric vehicles], exceeding 1,000 units.

The trend of rising values for vehicles over five years old, which began over the Christmas period, continued into the first two months of 2025, BCA noted.

Demand for fleet and lease vehicles started more slowly but improved significantly by the second week of trading, with strong competition at most price points regardless of fuel type.

BCA COO Stuart Pearson said: “2025 has started strongly across the wider used car market with a number of benchmark performances seen during January. With many retailers taking a more cautious approach on stocking on the run up to Christmas, the minor imbalance in supply and demand has stimulated the rise in average values – the highest monthly figure since the summer of 2023 – and supported some very strong sale conversion figures.”

The BCA report said customer feedback indicated that used car retail remains resilient. This is driven by factors such as forecourt stock shortages, challenges in the new vehicle market with a particular emphasis on EV sales, a shortage of three- to four-year-old used cars, and increasing consumer interest in second-hand EVs.

Looking ahead, Perason added: “With the supply of three- to four-year-old product being at an all-time low and the expected lag in volume uplift reaching the wholesale market following the plate-change, there is every expectation that used vehicle prices and demand will remain stable for some months to come.”