The Dutch are again more on the hunt for used diesel cars

In May, the Dutch searched for used petrol cars the most on Gas Pedal and Autotrack. With more than 57 percent of the searches, the hunt was opened for a used car with a petrol engine. Hybrid cars with a petrol engine were the next most popular with a share of 22 percent of searches. More interesting, however, is the increasing popularity of used diesel cars. The Dutch searched for a second-hand diesel car in almost 9 percent of the searches entered on Gas Pedal and Autotrack in May. That share has not been this large since August 2022.

The revival in demand for diesel-powered used vehicles is probably related to falling diesel prices. The price difference between petrol and diesel at the pump is increasing, in favor of diesel. This makes diesel more lucrative again. At the time of writing, the Average National Recommended Price (GLA) of a liter of Euro95 (E10) according to United Consumers is €1.96 and that of a liter of diesel is €1.64.

In May, searches for a second-hand diesel car were even more frequent on Autotrack and Gas Pedal than for a used electric car. In May, 8.2 percent of searches were for a second-hand EV. LPG cars, hybrid cars with a diesel engine and cars that like natural gas accounted for 1.9%, 1.4% and 0.7% of searches in May respectively.

Most popular brands and models

In May, Kia was the brand that managed to register the most new cars in the Netherlands. With the Picanto, Kia also owned the most registered new passenger car in our country last month. Remarkably enough, we do not find Kia in the Top 10 of most popular brands on Autotrack and Accelerator. With a share of more than 10 percent last month, Volkswagen was the brand that most potential second-hand buyers searched for, followed by Audi (8.4 percent), BMW (7.9 percent) and Mercedes-Benz (6.2 percent). Places five to ten are filled by Ford (5.6 percent), Toyota (5.1 percent), Peugeot (4.3 percent), Volvo (4.2 percent), Opel (4.1 percent) and Renault (4 percent).

The Volkswagen Golf turned out to be the most popular occasion in May. In 2.2 percent of the searches where a make and model was entered, a Golf was searched for. In second place we find the Volkswagen Polo (1.7 percent), in third place the BMW 3-series (1.5 percent). Places four to ten are successively for the Audi A3, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Tiguan, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-class, BMW 5-series and the BMW 1-series.

Station wagon remains popular

Although the car market is bombarded with new SUVs and crossovers, the station wagon is the most popular body shape on the Dutch second-hand market. In more than 23 percent of the searches, the Dutch searched for a second-hand station wagon in May. The hatchback was the most popular body style with a share of 22.4 percent in the next searches, followed by the SUV (14.6 percent) and – yes – the sedan (9.6 percent). Also striking is the interest that the Dutch used car seeker has in MPVs. Nearly 9 percent of searches hunted for a used “space car.”

Not very inspiring

The Dutch prefer a black car, according to the figures. In 26.9 percent of the searches, a black occasion was sought. In second and third place we find white (19.6 percent) and gray (14.6 percent). The first real color is in fourth place (blue, 13.4 percent), followed by red (61 percent) in fifth place.

Up to a ton

As expected, there is less dynamics in the Top 10 of the maximum mileages that were searched for. In more than 14 percent of the searches where a maximum mileage was specified, it concerned a maximum mileage of 100,000. In just under 10 percent of the cases, an occasion with up to 150,000 kilometers of experience was looked at. In 8.9 percent of the cases, the Dutch opened the hunt for a used car with a maximum of 10,000 kilometers of experience. Searches with an upper limit of 80,000, 50,000 and 120,000 kilometers ended up in places four, five and six. Year of manufacture 2018 was the most common in the searches (11.8 percent), followed by 2019 (9.3 percent), 2020 (9.1 percent) and 2017 (8.8 percent).