Used car prices have continued to skyrocket over the past month, with growth figures hitting an all-time high.

According to the Auto Trader Price Retail Index, vehicle prices were up 17.2 per cent year-on-year in August. 

This comes after July saw the largest single month-on-month increase of 14.1 percent, almost double that of May, which was up a healthy 8.1 per cent.

The considerable rise is being driven by a huge demand for used cars as plenty of people have exited periods of lockdown with 'accidental savings'.

Commuter's reluctance to use public transport amidst the pandemic has also been cited as a reason for the market boost, while manufacturers of new cars have faced shortages of a crucial semiconductor component that has partially halted supply lines. 

With buyers unwilling to spend long periods waiting for their new wheels, more people than ever are turning to used cars, sending prices flying.

Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s director of data and insight, said: "To put the price movement into context, in August 2020 average prices were increasing at a rate of six per cent year-on-year, which at the time marked a new record.

"Whilst few could have imagined a year later, growth would be accelerating at nearly three times that rate, we’ve said throughout the pandemic that we anticipated sustained levels of growth fuelled by the strong consumer demand in the market, even when other commentators predicted a collapse in prices."

Autotrader attracted 70.2m cross platform visits in August, representing a 36.4 per increase on the same period in 2019.

And Mr Walker has predicted a period of sustained interest in the used car market.

"The data still indicates exceptionally strong levels of used car demand, which has been given an additional boost from the ongoing new car supply constraints," he added.

"With what we’re observing we expect the growth rate to continue for some time to come."

The Jaguar XK saw the biggest hike in price, rising 48.3 per cent to £26,447

The next biggest gainers were the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which rose 34.2 per cent to £20,704, and the Mazda MX-5 which jumped 33.9 per cent to £13,091.

The analysis is based on the daily prices of around 900,000 vehicles.