A surge in the availability of second hand cars, including a flood of cheaper used electric vehicles, is driving a sales boom.

The number of used cars sold in 2023 was up some 350,000 on the year before, according to new analysis.

This pushed the number of transactions up to 7,242,692, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

A study from Motorway, the used-car marketplace, suggests there is room for further strong growth with an estimated 2.6 million Brits having a car sitting outside that they rarely use.

Recent research by AA Cars found the UK’s most sought-after used cars are around 10 percent cheaper than last year with electric vehicle posting the biggest falls.

The net effect is that drivers looking for new wheels could well be saving more than £1,500 on popular models.

While there are savings of as much as £9,000 on prestige battery electric models amid concerns about a lack of public charging stations and ‘range anxiety’.

The average figure for a used Qashqai is some 9 percent cheaper than the equivalent period last year – down from £16,599 to £15,077.

The average figure for a Fiesta is 13 percent less – coming down from £11,247 to £9,752.

The government and car makers are pushing Britons to invest in expensive electric cars and hybrids to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, however these are the most likely to dive in value.

For example, the Volvo XC40, which comes as fully electric or a plug-in hybrid, is down by 22.7 percent – dropping from £39,526 to £30,570.

And the Renault Zoe is some 18.7 percent cheaper – coming down from an average of £14,646 to £11,911.

Motorway found that 30 percent of households have two or more cars, highlighting real potential in downsizing and tapping into previously unrecognised value.

The organisation said that more than one million Britons sold a car in favour of vehicles compliant with clean air zones, such as London’s ULEZ, while 591,000 motorists did so to transition to an electric vehicle.

Motorway said: “The second-hand market – for EVs in particular – witnessed an unprecedented boost, nearly doubling sales to 119,000 units and marking a record for used EV transactions.

“This surge contributed to EVs capturing 1.6 percent of the market share, a notable increase facilitated by the depreciation in used EV prices and the expanding availability of these vehicles.”

The co-founder of Motorway, Alex Buttle, said: “For many people, their car is one of their most valuable assets.

“However, our research shows that too many car owners still don’t see their car as an asset and as such, are unaware of the value of their car or how it depreciates over time.”