Used EV sales continue to rise in Europe for two consecutive months
According to the recent Indicata Market Watch used car insights report, BEVs led the online sales of used cars in October in the UK, Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Consumers turned their attention to available EVs due to the extended delivery times of new cars and the increasing demand for used cars ending in depleted stocks.
According to Indicata, online B2C used car sales increased 1.4% last month-on-month, making October the second successive month EVs have sold faster than ICEs in Europe. Yet, sales of used BEVs were down 2.5% year-on-year due to supply constraints in the EV market. The numbers released by parent company Autorola show that the YTD sales of BEVs were 12.9% higher than for the same period in 2020 and 10.9% above 2019 level, underlining the preference of customers for used cars during the supply crisis.
Looking at the complete year online B2C used BEV sales are up 150% 2021 vs 2020, and hybrids rose 79% over the same period. This is a result of the shortage of traditional powertrains from the ex-rental market, combined with the tactical registrations of cleaner powertrains.
The remarkable increase in the demand for used BEVs is related to a limited supply and shrinking stock which comes with increased prices. The average used car prices have been climbing 28.3% in the UK and 14.9% in Portugal since the beginning of the year. Also in Germany and France prices surged with respectively 8.6% and 3.2%.
Competition between models goes up
The numbers reveal the faster adoption of EVs by consumers thanks to their availability. Indicata emphasizes "the perfect storm" for consumers to switch to EVs as their awareness of EVs increases, which is also a positive development for OEMs and suppliers. Despite the shortage in stock, EVs managed to drive both wholesale and retail sales.
“The used market continues to thrive despite a shortage in stock. It’s interesting to see that greater availability of EVs is pushing up both wholesale and retail sales. It’s the perfect storm for the consumer as they look to switch to an EV faster than planned because of their availability,” explained Andy Shield, INDICATA’s global business unit director. “It will be interesting to see when stocks of used petrol and diesel cars start to improve whether demand and prices of EVs will be impacted. The underlying fact is that consumer awareness of EVs is improving which is good news for OEMs and dealers,” he added.
The Toyota C-HR kept its position as the best-selling hybrid and the Renault Zoe as the best-selling BEV, while Toyota Prius retained its position as the fastest-selling hybrid in Europe. October numbers also showed the Audi e-tron regaining its position as the fastest-selling EV, before the electric MINI.
Overall, Volkswagen Golf is Europe's best-selling used and ICE car, while Kia Carens used to be Europe's fastest-selling used car.
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
