The corona virus puts everything down, but there are always exceptions. In addition to the sale of plexiglass, masks and disinfectants, the sale of used cars is also on the rise.
Branch organization Bovag reports that in the third quarter 341,118 used passenger cars were traded by car companies. That is 10.1 percent more than in the third quarter of 2019. This continues a previously started trend. After a brief but severe dip in March and April, used car sales rose to record levels, mainly because many people no longer feel safe in public transport due to the corona virus.
The total for the first three quarters of 2020 comes to 968,946 units, 1.3 percent more than last year. Please note: this only concerns cars sold by professional dealers. Sales between private individuals are therefore not yet included in the figures.
More electric, more automatic
If we look at the mix of cars sold, a number of striking trends can be observed. For example, the number of used electric cars sold has doubled, even though the total is only slightly more than 1 percent. Instead of 1,571 units in 2019, 3,570 used EVs were traded in the past quarter.
Cars with an automatic transmission – which of course also include EVs – are also increasingly popular. Bovag has a share of almost 29 percent, against just 26 percent in the same period last year. The popularity of hybrids would contribute significantly to this trend, although more and more new cars with automatic transmission are of course also being sold. Diesels are and remain a difficult story in the Dutch used car landscape. Their share of sales fell from 13.8 to 12 percent.
Still worries
Although there seems to be little cause for complaint for the Dutch used car trade, the outlook is not as positive as the figures suggest, according to Bovag. This of course has everything to do with the economic consequences of the much-discussed virus, but also with the fact that many people will probably continue to work from home more often.