Used cars are almost twice as expensive as new cars

The price of used cars continues to rise. According to the last barometer Coches.com and GANVAM, until September there has been up 19% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching an average of 17,950 euros.

This increase, two points above that registered until June, is observed in all age ranges, but much more noticeably the older the vehicle.

Source: Coches.com-GANVAM Barometer

For its part, new cars are also more expensive. According to the Tax Agency. If the price of the new car sold in Spain between January and September was €22,739compared to 20,229 euros in the same period of the previous year, a 11% more.

“The price of a new car has gradually risen in recent years as manufacturers have included a greater number of versions with electrified propulsion systems in their ranges,” says Gerardo Cabañas, general manager of Coches.com. “Economic uncertainty is making the Spanish market bet on second-hand vehicles, which are raising prices due to increased demand,” he concludes.

A used car is today a treasure

Tensions in the supply chain are causing a lack of new vehicle stock. However, this lack of vehicles has also been transferred to the second-hand market which, given the difficulties of companies and rental companies to renew the fleet, lacks pre-owned models, which hampers sales. In the first nine months of 2022, 5% fewer used cars sold that a year ago.

The protagonists of the second-hand market continue to be the oldest vehicles. Cars over 10 years old accounted for 61.3% of transactions up to September 2022.

Source: Coches.com-GANVAM Barometer

According to Ganvam’s corporate director, Jaime Barea, “this leading role of the oldest vehicles makes it difficult to achieve climate neutrality objectives, which shows that the renovation of the park must be a cornerstone in the decarbonization strategy. Let’s not think only of the traditional approach of encouraging scrapping in exchange for the purchase of another vehicle and let’s also incorporate –following the example of Madrid–, other formulas such as purses for kilometers that can be exchanged for sharing solutions. These shared mobility vehicles, with a high renewal rate, would help nurture the second-hand market for young vehicles and would increase the prominence of the professional seller over the individual”.

Online demand also falls

The increase in prices due to the lack of supply has caused online demand to fall in parallel with that of the market, 5% in the accumulated until September. This decrease has worsened in the last quarter, since until June it grew by 1%.

“The situation of instability and inflation does not help the demand for cars, especially fuels, subsidized at the moment, but nobody knows what will happen in 2023. An old used vehicle is also less efficient (and more polluting) than a new one. . Facilitating the purchase of cleaner vehicles and access to electrified ones would help to spend less fuel and renew the fleet, incorporating more young used cars to the second-hand market”, indicates Gerardo Cabañas.

The Volkswagen Golf continues to reign

In an analysis by models, continues the volkswagen golf as the best-selling model in the second-hand market in Spain. Knowing the age of the best-selling cars, it was obvious that it would have to be a popular car more than a decade ago. The same goes for Seat Ibiza and Seat León, which complete the podium. The German model is also the most demanded on the Internet, followed by Citroën Berlingo and Citroën C4.

Source: Coches.com-GANVAM Barometer

In the accumulated until September, there is only one change with respect to the previous barometer, the overtaking of the Ford Focus to the BMW 3 Series in the Top 10. Striking in this list of best-selling models that all sales decrease compared to those that had been registered a year before, which shows the lack of supply.