The start of a new month means that we can look back on the sales figures the month before. April is the first full month in which the Netherlands implemented corona measures. This is of course reflected in car sales, including in the used car market.
Figures from VWE Automotive show that the blows that fall in April are more severe than those of a month earlier. As the pandemic had no impact in the first half of March, the total used car market for passenger cars ended minus 9.2 percent a year earlier compared to the same month. In March, 223,186 used passenger cars went over the counter. Last month, that number dropped to 182,245, down 19.3 percent from April 2019.
Trade declined, especially between companies, as the B2B market recorded the largest drop of 25.6 percent to 57,459 cars. Sales between businesses and private individuals also declined by 23.5 percent (80,428 cars). The private market was the least hit with a decrease of 8.7 percent (44,358). 4,000 fewer cars were traded among themselves. Since the beginning of this year, 930,781 used cars have been sold, which counter was currently 965,275 (-3.6 percent) last year.
Volkswagen remains the largest player in the second-hand market. In April this year, 10,113 used Volkswagens got a new owner. Last year there were 1,981 more around this time. Peugeot and Opel follow with successively 6,815 and 6,125 used cars sold. Last year, those counters were at 9,170 and 8,348 after the month of April. A striking decrease in the number of used Renaults sold: last April, 8,051 people bought a used car from the brand, this year only 5,842.