Last year, fewer used passenger cars were imported than in 2019. In total, almost 217,000 used cars were brought to the Netherlands, according to figures released today by Bovag and RDC.
Last year, 216,688 used passenger cars were imported into the Netherlands. That is a total of 12,072 fewer than in 2019 and that corresponds to a percentage decrease of more than 5 percent.
Particularly in March, April and May, the import of used cars fell significantly, with April as the peak. In that month, only 1,874 used cars crossed the border to the Netherlands. In the same month of 2019, ten times that number of used passenger cars was brought to the Netherlands. Although roughly 50 percent fewer used cars were imported in March and April than in the same months of 2019, imports rose again from the trough in June. From that month the import figures until the end of the year even exceeded those of 2019.
Diesel out of favor, electrified models in demand
Of the nearly 217,000 imported used cars, just under 172,000 had a petrol engine under the hood. That number is almost equal to the number of petrol cars imported in 2019. As expected, the number of imported cars with a diesel engine on board decreased compared to the previous year. The number of imported diesel cars decreased by no less than 37 percent compared to 2019 to about 26,000 units. The demand for electrified used cars in turn increased sharply. With 13,500 units, almost 50 percent more hybrids were imported than in 2019. The same growth percentage applies to the number of imported fully electric used cars. Last year some 4,500 used EVs entered our country.
About 60 percent of imported used cars came from Germany last year. It involves more than 130,000 cars. After Germany, the most used passenger cars came from Belgium, in total about 32,000 copies. Spain follows in third place, 9,000 used cars came from the country.
Export
Just like the import of used cars, the export of used passenger cars has also decreased. Last year, with 273,545 units, 9 percent fewer used cars crossed the Dutch border abroad. 140,000 of them had a diesel engine under the hood, 2 percent more than in 2019. A total of 1,634 used EVs were shipped abroad, which was 280 more than in 2019.