The overall used car market reached record highs in 2018, with diesel sales holding up, despite pressures in the new car market, according to James Tomlinson, chairman of The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA).

He said auction activity was unprecedented in 2018, with both first time conversion rates and average values up. Conversion rates were extremely strong, and month-on-month 2018 outperformed the last two years in this key selling metric.

While used petrol values were the strongest performers, used diesel also continued to sell well.

He said this demonstrated that diesel still has a firm place in the used car market, and recent reports suggest that there could be a shortage of diesel product in the used car market in the near future.

Sales attendance at auctions remained high throughout the year, with professional buyers bidding competitively across all market sectors, both at auction and online.

Tomlinson added: “The market was incredibly consistent throughout the whole of 2018.

“NAMA is optimistic that demand and prices in the used car market will remain stable and 2019 will mark another successful year for the auction sector.”