“The number of used cars aged nine years and over sold last year rose by 7.5% while sales of cars aged under five years declined by 7.2%.

“Older cars are increasingly becoming a fact of life for car dealers and used car buyers and will be going forward as supplies of younger used cars may well remain low for up to a decade.”

Gannon continued: “This latest edition of the BCA Used Car Market Report paints a picture of a used car industry evolving to deal with the changing economic landscape.

"With an ageing parc of vehicles and limited supplies of younger cars available, both dealers and motorists will have to get used to a marketplace where the typical used car is both older and higher mileage than has been the norm in previous years. “

Headline Data

Volumes

• 6.7 million used cars were sold last year, up from 6.6 million in 2010 and 6.3 million in 2009.
• Dealers sold 3.74 million cars last year, a rise of 2% year-on-year.
• Private-to-private sales accounted for 2.63 million cars, climbing 7% compared with 2010.
• The balance (0.3 million) were acquired through alternative routes (gifts, inheritances, auctions etc).
• Sales of cars aged under two years fell by 9.5% to 642,000 units (9.6% of the total).
• Sales of cars aged three to five years fell by 6.2% to 1.73 million units (25.8% of the total).
• Sales of cars aged 6 to 8 years rose by 7.4% to 1.79 million (26.8% of the total).
• Sales of cars aged over nine years rose by 7.5% to 2.53 million (37.8% of the total)

Values

• The value of the used car market was £35.7 billion in 2011, compared to £35 billion the previous year. This was £6.7 billion higher than the new car market value of £29 billion.
• Dealer sales of used cars rose to £26.8 billion (up £0.3 billion), accounting for 75.1% of the total market value.
• The total value of private-to-private sales was £7.4 billion, up £0.6 billion, year-on-year and accounting for 20.7%.

Average Car Data

• The average used car value in 2011 was £5,336, compared to £5,332 in 2010.
• The average value of used car purchased from a dealer declined by £126 (-1.7%) to £7,169 last year.
• The average value of a car sold privately improved by £66 (+2.4%) to £2,815.
• The average age of car on UK roads in 2011 was 7.44 years, up from 7.25 years in 2010.
• 47% of used cars purchased last year were hatchbacks, 22% saloons, 10% MPVs, 7% estates, 4% off-road, 4% sports/coupe, 2% micro/city and 1% prestige. The balance (3%) was other body types.