Demand for expensive used BEVs stalls as consumers respond to cost-of-living crisis reports INDICATA
The huge demand for expensive used BEVs in Europe has stalled because of the cost-of-living crisis according to the latest INDICATA Market Watch used car insights report.
BEVs have moved from being the fastest-selling fuel type in Europe in August to the slowest-selling just a month later as the market turns to buying cheaper used petrol and diesels.
Where motorists want a cheaper low emission alternative to an EV they have turned to hybrids with both sales and stock turn increasing in September.
Between September and October INDICATA identified further signs of the economy slowing as European prices rose by just 0.1% during that period, following a 0.3% rise in August.
UK used car prices have fallen by -3.5% and remain the only country in Europe where prices have fallen in 2022.
At the other end of the price scale Portugal experienced a price rise of 12.6%, Austria 12.5% and Spain 11.6% in 2022.
Online B2C used car stock levels continue to fluctuate wildly after 31 months of market disruption with countries like Portugal and Poland continuing to suffer from acute shortages of used stock. France remains the only country in Europe to report used car sales increasing between September 2021 and 2022, up 30.9%, helped by a 24.8% increase in stock levels during the same period, while Spain were 29.4% down year-on-year.
“The used market has now suffered from 31 months of disruption and now the rising cost of living is beginning to have an influence on consumer buying habits. That has immediately impacted used EV sales as prices remain at a large premium when compared with ICE cars,” explained Andy Shields, INDICATA’s global business unit director.
“On a positive note, used prices remain stable because of the lack of stock in the market and there are no signs of that problem being fixed anytime soon. Market trends are likely to continue to change on a week-by-week basis for a while longer and fleets and dealers must ensure they use insights to help them set the right reserve at auction and the right retail price for the consumer to maximise sales,” he added.
