Quarter two used car sales this year were the highest since Q1 in 2009.

A total of 1,804,871 used cars were sold from April to June 2013, compared to 1,726,627 in Q2 2012, an overall rise of 4.5 per cent and the first year-on-year increase in sales during Q2 since records began in 2005, according to information services provider Experian.

All segments, except one, experienced a significant rise in sales compared to Q2 2012.

Leading the rise was the best-selling supermini segment, incorporating the Vauxhall Corsa and Ford Fiesta, with a 7.5 per cent increase.

The only segment to experience a fall in sales was the upper medium segment, in which sales dropped by 3.2 per cent.

The growing popularity of hybrid and electric models continues with rises of 35.5 and 14.3 per cent respectively. Petrol models, which still represent over 65 per cent of used car sales, also saw uplift in sales albeit at a smaller rise of 1.1 per cent.

Regionally the South East was the best performing region with the biggest year-on-year increase of 6.9 per cent.  At the other end of the scale, but still seeing an impressive increase was Greater London selling 1.6 per cent more models in Q2 2013.

The Ford Focus remains the best-selling used car with over 159,000 units sold between April to June 2013.

Andrew Ballard, principle consultant at Experian Automotive, said: “Sales data is an indicator of the overall health of the automotive industry in the UK so the four year high seen in Q2 is a positive sign, especially when teamed with the upward trend in new car sales.

"Sales are clearly being driven by the popular Supermini segment and it now accounts for a third of all the used cars sold in the UK.

"This type of intelligence is invaluable information for forward thinking automotive businesses and dealers wanting to build the optimum stock mix.”

> Used car sales statistics (Source: Experian)