Autotrader Puts Used Electric Car Asking Prices at £25,263 as Petrol Falls 1.9 Percent

• The average used car asking price in October was £17,321, flat on September and down 1.8 percent on a year ago in the Autotrader Retail Price Index.
• The average used electric car asked £25,263, up 2.8 percent on a year ago and the only fuel type to rise, while petrol cars fell 1.9 percent to £14,589.
• Cars aged 10 to 15 years gained 4.6 percent in a year to £7,290, the strongest climb of any age band.

Why a Used Electric Car Now Asks £10,674 More Than a Petrol One

A used electric car asked £25,263 in October. A used petrol car asked £14,589. The gap is £10,674, and it widened over the year: electric prices rose 2.8 percent, about £688 on a like-for-like car, while petrol prices fell 1.9 percent, about £283. Electric prices rose 1.3 percent on September and have now grown on the year for six months in a row.

Across every fuel type the average asking price stood at £17,321. Prices held flat on September on a like-for-like basis and sit 1.8 percent below October 2025. September’s annual fall was 1.0 percent, so the year on year slide deepened by 0.8 of a percentage point even as the month on month line stopped moving.

Cars did not sit on forecourts. The average used car took 29 days to sell, the same as a year ago and one day quicker than September. Autotrader surveyed buyers on its platform and three quarters said they plan to buy within six months. A flat month, a softer year and quick sales describe an easing market.

Which age bands are rising and which are falling

The youngest cars lost the most. A car under one year old asked £32,019 in October, down 3.5 percent on a year earlier, roughly £1,161 less than the same kind of car cost twelve months before. One to three year olds averaged £25,366, down 2.0 percent. Cars of three to five years averaged £19,939, down 2.3 percent, about £469 cheaper than a year ago. Cars of five to ten years averaged £14,276, down 1.8 percent.

Then the line turns. Cars aged 10 to 15 years asked £7,290, up 4.6 percent over the year and up 1.5 percent in the month, about £321 more than a year earlier. Cars over 15 years old averaged £5,294, up 3.0 percent. Autotrader ties the older end of the market to demand for affordable petrol and diesel stock.

A five to ten year old car asks £6,986 more than a ten to fifteen year old one (£14,276 less £7,290). Sellers of a decade old car are asking more than they did a year ago, and the older end of the market is the only part where the average price climbs.

The ten models that gained most, and the ten that lost most

Autotrader tracks the models with the biggest like-for-like moves. The Porsche Boxster led at £21,881, up 20.1 percent on the year and 1.0 percent on September. The Subaru Forester followed at £20,196, up 12.8 percent, and gained 3.0 percent in a single month. The Skoda Enyaq, an electric car, asked £26,312, up 11.7 percent. The Renault Zoe, also electric, asked £9,183, up 11.2 percent.

The rest of the ten: the Toyota Land Cruiser at £44,787 (up 10.8 percent), the MG5 at £11,849 (up 10.8 percent, and up 3.2 percent in the month, the fastest monthly rise in the table), the BMW Z4 at £21,186 (up 10.4 percent), the Mazda MX-5 at £12,711 (up 10.4 percent), the Mercedes-Benz SL at £30,428 (up 9.8 percent) and, in tenth place, a Kia at £7,657 (up 9.0 percent). The Z4, MX-5 and SL all slipped on the month, by 1.3, 0.2 and 0.3 percent, so their year gains are cooling.

The fallers read the other way. The Jaguar E-PACE dropped 18.4 percent to £14,471. The Vauxhall Grandland fell 15.8 percent to £16,931 and the Peugeot Rifter 15.6 percent to £12,610. The BYD Seal U lost 15.5 percent to £25,274, the Peugeot 408 14.8 percent to £17,771 and the Range Rover Velar 14.5 percent to £26,541. The Vauxhall Crossland X fell 14.2 percent to £7,261, the Vauxhall Mokka X 14.1 percent to £7,286, the Range Rover Evoque 13.2 percent to £16,849 and the Renault Symbioz 13.1 percent to £20,895. The Symbioz also dropped 5.1 percent in October alone, the steepest one month fall in the list.

For a buyer, a model on the fallers list is a car with room to negotiate. For a seller, a model on the risers list is a reason to price against recent adverts and not last year’s.

Why electric demand is running ahead of supply

Autotrader puts electric demand growth at 38.1 percent on the year, against supply growth of 11.5 percent. More buyers are chasing a smaller increase in cars, and that holds asking prices up. Used electric cars were the fastest selling fuel type at 25 days on average, a full four days faster than in September and four days ahead of petrol. Diesel cars needed 33 days, and Autotrader’s earlier look at used diesel selling times also put diesel last.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders counted 97,625 used battery electric cars sold in the third quarter of 2026, up 23.2 percent, which lifted their share of used sales to 4.8 percent from 3.9 percent a year earlier. Hybrid electric cars grew faster still at 25.9 percent to 135,204. Petrol sold 1,148,576 cars, 56.6 percent of the market and just 271 fewer than a year before, while diesel fell 5.3 percent to 623,354. The whole used market handled 2,030,619 cars, up 0.5 percent.

Ian Plummer, Chief Customer Officer at Autotrader, described the October trend on the platform this way: “What is really striking, though, is the momentum behind used electric cars. Our latest data shows used electric retail sales rose 56% year on year in October, accounting for one in ten used retail sales tracked on Autotrader – and around one in four of all sub five-year-old cars. With an ever-growing choice reaching second-hand buyers, and EVs the only fuel type recording year-on-year price growth, electric is becoming an increasingly important retail opportunity.”

Mike Hawes, Chief Executive of the SMMT, tied the used figures to the new car showroom: “Another quarter of growth means Britain’s used car market remains on course for its best year since the Covid-19 pandemic. Long-term investment in new models is broadening choice for used car buyers, while growth in new EVs is driving a surge in second-hand uptake. To sustain this progress and make zero emission mobility possible for all motorists, the new car market must remain strong, underpinned by measures that boost EV demand – including affordable and widely accessible charging infrastructure and compelling fiscal incentives.”

Supply of used electric cars grew 11.5 percent while demand grew 38.1 percent, and asking prices rose with it. Trade valuations tell a similar story in used electric car values.

How to buy or sell at the right price

Start with the age band, not the fuel type. A buyer looking at a three to five year old car has the softest market in the data: the band averages £19,939 and is falling 2.3 percent. The typical car in the band asks about £469 less than a year ago, so last year’s prices are a poor guide to what to pay. A buyer looking at a 10 to 15 year old car faces a rising market, with the £7,290 band average as the reference point.

Check how long the advert has run. The market average is 29 days to sell, 25 for electric and 33 for diesel. A car still listed after six or seven weeks has sat well beyond those averages, which is a fair reason to ask the seller why.

Compare the exact car with its band, not the headline average. The £17,321 figure blends £32,019 cars under a year old with £5,294 cars over 15 years old, and the average electric car asks £10,674 more than the average petrol car. Match the advert’s fuel type and age band before judging whether it is dear or cheap.

Sellers of a car over ten years old are in the one part of the market where prices are rising: 4.6 percent in a year and 1.5 percent in October alone for cars of 10 to 15 years, and 3.0 percent in a year for cars over 15. Autotrader links the demand to buyers wanting affordable petrol and diesel cars. Sellers of a car under five years old face falling asking prices, so price against live adverts for the same model, mileage and trim.

Marc Palmer of Autotrader gave dealers a pricing rule that private sellers can use as well: “For retailers, that means pricing from the retail market back, rather than from the trade market up. Where retail demand supports the price, softer wholesale values can create an opportunity to buy well and protect margin, not an automatic reason to reduce forecourt prices. The key is to respond to the evidence on each car, rather than let uncertainty in the headlines drive reductions that aren’t needed.”

For a buyer, that puts the evidence on the dealer’s side when a car is priced at the going rate: cars still sell in 29 days, the same as a year ago. Ask for the history, the mileage and the service record, check the advert age, and compare against the live price of the same model before making an offer.

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Sources

• Autotrader plc: Used car retail prices hold steady month-on-month as market continues to show resilience
• Autotrader plc: Commentary, Q3 Used Car Transactions 2026
• SMMT: Used car market records second quarter of growth with one in 20 drivers going electric

Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar