French used-car market down in 2018

Despite an end-of-year surge, used-car sales were down 1.7% in France last year. The grand total for 2018 was 5,587,110 units, or 95,992 less than 2017 – which was a record year. 

Used-car sales were particularly slack in the first nine months of the year, averaging -3.4% compared to the previous year and peaking at -7.4% in August. Sales picked up in the last three months of the year, with November figures showing a healthy +7.4% (455,792 units). 

Analysts attribute the drop in used-car sales to the overabundance of used diesel cars, and consumers’ decreasing appetite for this powertrain. All is of course relative, as diesel remains the dominant variety (62.8%), even as petrol progresses by 2.5% (to 35.5%) and hybrids are up by 20.8% (to 1.2%), with electrics surging 61.5% (to 0.2%). 

French brands occupy 52.4% of the used-car market (down 2.3%), while Dacia is up by 21.6%, Skoda by 12.6% and Nissan by 10.1%. This year should be more positive for French used-car sales, as the type of vehicles coming onto the used-car market this year promises to be geared more to the tastes of the consumers, experts say.