Most sought-after used cars: what the official figures show

What "sought-after" means and what can be measured

Searching and buying are different data points, and official statistics count only registrations and ownership changes. Three things can be measured:

• Searches: held by advertising portals and search engines. The official sources we read do not contain them.
• Ownership changes or transactions: published by the UK, Germany and Austria.
• First registrations: published by Slovenia and Croatia, with new and used cars shown separately in Slovenia.

United Kingdom: the 2025 and 2026 figures

SMMT counted 7,807,872 used car transactions in 2025, up 2.2%, with the top five models shown below (SMMT, 10 February 2026). In the second quarter of 2026 it counted 2,009,318 transactions, up 0.7% on the same quarter of 2025 (SMMT used car sales page, read 19 October 2026).

In the second quarter of 2026 the first three places were unchanged: Ford Fiesta (73,570), Vauxhall Corsa (59,247) and Volkswagen Golf (55,786). The SMMT page we read does not define a "transaction", so compare UK figures with other countries in direction only.

Comparing official sources across countries

Countries count different things, so do not compare the numbers directly. The table shows what each source counts.

Which trends the sources support

• Used electric and hybrid cars are growing: in the UK, 274,815 used battery-electric cars changed hands in 2025 (+45.7%) and 407,531 hybrids (+28.6%) (SMMT, 10 February 2026). In Austria, used electric registrations reached 34,700 (+20.9%, a 4.2% share) while diesel fell 5.8% (Statistik Austria, 14 January 2026).
• Germany is weaker in 2026: ownership changes of passenger cars from January to September 2026 were 2.9% lower than a year earlier (KBA, 5 October 2026).
• Slovenia leans towards new cars: first registrations of used passenger cars fell 4% in 2025 while new ones rose 8% (SURS).

The official sources we reviewed contain no figure for the idea that buyers look for fuel-efficient models because of fuel prices, or for the idea that more people import from abroad, so we do not present them as trends.

How to read market statistics: five questions

1. What is counted: a first registration, an ownership change or a transaction?
2. Which period does it cover and when was it published?
3. Are passenger cars the only vehicles included?
4. Is the figure provisional or final?
5. Does it say anything about models, or only about the total?

What this means for a dealer and for a buyer

For a dealer

Official figures show where the market is heading. Use your own sales data to choose models and compare them with what appears in listings across countries. WeltScout monitors 50+ portals in 14 countries and sends a WhatsApp or e-mail alert when a new listing matches your criteria. It checks listings once or twice a day, depending on the plan. The trial needs no card, and the Business plan starts at EUR 129.90 per month excluding VAT.

For a buyer

A model with many transactions is not necessarily a good example. High volumes do usually mean more cars to compare prices against. For help with choosing a model, see the blog index.

Frequently asked questions