Sales of used cars from traders to consumers (B2C) were 12.3 percent higher in April than in April last year. Last month, 115,862 used cars were sold B2C, VWE reports. This means a decrease of 6.9 percent compared to March 2024, when the counter stood at 124,568.
Trade prices fluctuate
Remarketing platform Auto1 Group reports that European trading prices of passenger cars increased by 0.5 percent in April compared to March. Auto1’s Price Index rose from 137.3 in March to 138 in March. Despite this slight increase last month, used car prices fell by 2.8 percent in the first four months of this year.
On an annual basis, the decline is much greater, namely 7.2 percent. The index fell from 148.7 in April 2023 to 138 last month. “Regardless of these fluctuations, prices for used cars are still 17.5 percent higher than before the pandemic, measured in April 2019 when the index was 117.5,” reports Auto 1.
Asking price drops
While Auto 1 observed a small price increase last month, used car portal Autoscout24 sees a further decrease. In March, the average price of a used car was 23,124 euros. Last month the price fell by 1.4 percent to 22,780 euros. Over the past three months, Autoscout24 has seen a decrease of 6.5 percent. “The market has turned upside down,” notes Dorianne Richelle of Autoscout24 Netherlands. “Prices continue to decline and approach 2022 levels.”
At the beginning of May, the Autodata (AOX) index stood at 124.2 (January 2020=100), which is a decrease of 0.4 percent compared to last month. The showroom asking prices have therefore fallen slightly compared to last month. This downward trend has been going on since October 2023.
The difference between asking price and search price is growing
Automotive Mediaventions investigates the search behavior of consumers on Autotrack and Gaspedal.nl every month. The difference between the average search price of consumers and the average asking price of sellers is growing. Last month the average asking price was now 17,766 euros, while the average asking price for used cars is 24,480. Among the fuels that people enter as a search term, gasoline is still at the top (52.5%). This is followed by petrol hybrid (26.2%) and in third place is electric, with 9 percent of searches. Last month, the electric penny swapped with diesel, which now amounts to 8.4 percent.
