The Big Cool-Down: A Mid-2025 Car Market Report

• Market down 9.7% globally, 6% in the UK

• Values returning to pre-Covid levels

• Supply up significantly, especially in sub-£50k cars

• Demand steady - but sellers must adjust expectations

The car market has hit a slight speed bump in the first half of 2025. 

After soaring prices through to 2023, a notable softening is underway. 

Globally, the market is down 9.7% compared to the same period in 2024. The classic segment is faring slightly better, with a dip of 5.7%. 

For many motors, this brings prices back to pre-Covid levels, a significant 17-20% below the peak seen globally in 2023.

However, not every corner of the market is in retreat. 

Take pre-war cars, for instance. After famously taking a battering in recent years, there are signs we’ve hit the floor. In the first six months of this year, prices in this specialist segment actually rose by 2%, showing that even in a softening market, there are exceptions to the rule.

And The UK?

Here in the UK, the story is a little less dramatic. The overall market is down 6%, with classics seeing a 4% decline.

While this is a more muted downturn than the global picture, we’re significantly down from the peak - a stomach churning 38%.

But, Are They Actually Falling?

This decline in prices of between 6% and 10% overall, depending how you cut the data, is that real?

In other words, are values actually falling by that amount or is it just cheaper cars coming to market thus giving the perception that values are falling but rather it’s just less desirable vehicles being offered?

Short answer, bit of both. 

For example, across our most popular 200 models, 65% of them have lost value. The average price change across all 200 was -5%. 

This divergence is clear when you look at the individual winners and losers. Some of the strongest performers include the Range Rover Classic, the Porsche 944 Turbo, BMW's 635 CSi, and the Honda NSX. In contrast, the once unassailable Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Roadsters have continued their fall from grace and even niche cars like the Hummer H2 have fallen almost as significantly as its 3-tonne weight.

The woes for Jaguar run particularly deep. Average Jaguar values saw a chunky fall of 18% versus last year.

But is this fallout from the recent re-brand? No. Average Jaguar prices have been trending this way for a number of years; indeed, prices today on average are less than half of what they were in 2020.

Getting back to it, that underlying 5% fall across models tells us that when you look on a model-by-model basis, the actual value of vehicles is down to a certain extent. The rest of the overall market drop must be down to something else.

So, What’s The Rest Down To?

Compared to the same time period in 2024, we’ve seen 5% more cars come to auction in the first six months of 2025.

Remarkably, when you delve in here almost all the growth in the number of cars being offered is at the lower end of the price spectrum. 

We’ve seen a 10% increase in the number of cars being sold at sub-£50,000.

Whereas we’ve seen a 7% fall in the number of cars being sold at £100,000+.

One school of thought here is that people are wising up to the softening market of recent years.

Put yourself in the shoes of a person with a £10,000 car, a 10% fall in the value isn’t ideal but £1,000 isn’t an awful pill to swallow if you wanted out.

Now put yourself in the shoes of a person with a £1,000,000 car, a 10% fall in the value is a £100,000 bath. An awful pill to swallow regardless of your bank balance.

In other words, we’re seeing sellers become aware of the softening market and those that can take the hit in absolute terms are begrudgingly willing to do so, those with cars at the higher end are trying to avoid realising that loss due to the extent of the haircut.

To Sell Or Not To Sell?

In order to answer that question you need to understand what’s driven the market in recent years and therefore what needs to change to correct the current softening.

Several factors are at play. The post-Covid boom, which saw prices inflate rapidly, is now experiencing a natural retreat. Lingering low consumer confidence and the impact of higher interest rates (albeit they’ve softened in 2024 and 2025) are also playing their part for the modern end of the spectrum.

However, the primary driver appears to be supply. An unprecedented number of cars are coming to market. Auction houses (across both live and online) are seeing nearly 200% more vehicles than they did five years ago. That was in 2020, the beginning of Covid, but even if you wind back to 2019 the number of listings is still up over 150%. 

So, what does the rest of the year and beyond hold? 

The most important indicator will be supply. If that continues to expand, don’t expect a big rise in prices. If supply constrains, prices will start to re-bound.

Two other indicators offer a glimpse. 

The sell-through rate, a crucial measure of demand, has held steady at 68% – the same as last year. Furthermore, online search data for "classic cars" shows interest remains at pre-Covid levels.

This suggests that demand is stable. The key variable moving forward will be supply. If the flood of cars to auction continues, we can expect further downward pressure on prices. The market is in a delicate balance, and the coming 6 months will be crucial in determining its direction.

Three Key Takeaways

So, let's pull this all together. If you remember three things from the first half of 2025, make it these:

1. This Isn't a Crash. The headline numbers look stark, but this is largely a return to normality. Prices are simply retreating from the unsustainable post-pandemic peak back to more sensible, pre-Covid levels. The sky isn't falling; the market is just catching its breath.

2. Supply is the New King. For years, the story was about rarity and demand. Right now, the single biggest factor moving the market is the sheer number of cars being offered for sale, especially at the sub-£50,000 level. This flood of choice for buyers is what's putting downward pressure on prices, not a collapse in desire.

3. The Buyers Haven't Gone Away. Crucially, people are still buying. A steady sell-through rate proves that demand is stable. This isn't a story about a lack of interest; it's a classic tale of supply simply outstripping demand. The fundamental passion for great motorcars remains firmly intact.

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