Used diesel car prices rose significantly compared to petrol in Q2, but the diesel market saw a significant drop in volumes.

Jon Mitchell of Autorola

Data from the Autorola online portal shows average diesel prices rose £681 (6.1%) in Q2 to £11,839. This was aided by a fall in average age from 34 to 33 months and average mileage from 30,323 in Q1 to 26,112 miles – while a 9.8% drop in used volumes may have also contributed to the price increase.

Average petrol prices were rose 2.5% to £9,204 – the second successive quarterly rise – but this was despite a rise in average age from 31 to 32 months and a 12.8% rise in petrol volumes, which now stand at a three-year high.

The supply of hybrid and electric cars was minimal in Q2 with only a handful of ex-demonstrators hitting the Autorola portal at an average age of seven months and 3,000 miles. The average price of cars sold was £20,133.

Jon Mitchell, group sales director of Autorola UK, said: “The used market is still in rude health across all sectors. Diesel prices keep defying the market and continue to rise, while the supply and price of used petrols has never been higher. August may cool the market down after this long hot spell, but it looks unlikely prices will change dramatically over the coming months.”