The used vehicle market is experiencing a rebound in 2023 to break the downward trend registered in the post-pandemic years. The forecast is that the year 2023 will close with a growth of around 2.5%, to exceed 1.9 million units sold, according to data provided by the consulting firm MSI for employers in the Ganvam sector (official distributors and independent) and Faconauto (dealerships).
In fact, until November, sales of second-hand passenger cars accumulated a total of 1,742,021 examples, which represents 2.9% more compared to the same period in 2022. These figures confirm the preference of Spaniards for used cars, since for every new unit almost two already registered vehicles are sold.
Throughout this year, a slight adjustment has been observed in the preferences of users, who are opting for semi-new vehicles or vehicles less than five years old, in relation to previous periods. However, it is worth noting that second-hand car transfers, many of which occur between individuals, continue to be represented by models that are more than 10 years old from the date they were first registered.
According to the used vehicle portal Coches.net, 6 out of every 10 second-hand car transactions correspond to vehicles that are more than a decade old. This peculiarity is explained by the increase in vehicle prices, which reached an average of 22,000 euros for new ones and 17,990 euros in the case of used vehicles during the year 2022, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). ).
The Volkswagen Golf repeats as the preferred model for second-hand vehicle buyers in Spain, with 61,096 units sold until December 19. The long-lived model of the German firm leads the ranking of the best-selling used cars for the fourth year, a short distance from the 63,131 examples transferred in 2022, with an average age of 15.1 years.
The Volkswagen Golf is closely followed by the Renault Megane, with 61,096 units, while the Seat Ibiza completes the podium of the best-selling second-hand vehicles, with 55,862 units. The average age of the French company’s model is 14.6 years and that of the Ibiza, 14.3 years.
Both the Seat León, fourth in the ranking, and the Ford Focus, fifth, exceed 40,000 units sold on the second-hand market in our country. Until December 19, El León has accumulated 47,084 sales and an age of 12.3 years; and the Ford Focus, 46,627 units and 14.2 years old.
The table of the 10 models most in demand by users is completed by the Citroën C4 (38,668 units), the Renault Clio (37,529), the Opel Corsa (32,800), the Opel Astra (32,360) and the Citroën C3 (31,018). All of them are also over 10 years old. The oldest after the VW Golf is the Opeal Astra, with an average of 15 years. If we calculate the average age of the 10 best-selling used models, the result is 13.25 years.
The Volkswagen Golf is not only the best-selling second-hand car in Spain, but it is also the one that arouses the greatest interest from users. Data on searches for second-hand cars on Coches.net places the best-selling European passenger car of all time at the top of the ranking.
However, the second best-selling used car, the Renault Megane, is not among the 10 most searched for in the marketplace. However, high-end models such as the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class do, and although the Seat León is in fourth position among the models with the most searches, the following again correspond to high-end vehicles. high price, as can be seen in the following box.
Regarding the brands with the highest sales volume in the used market, Volkswagen once again leads the ranking, with 169,312 units sold and an average age of 12.9 years, followed by Seat, with 167,177 units sold with a average age of 13.5 years. In third place is Peugeot, with 147,359 units and 12.8 years old.
