The measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus have serious consequences on the car market. Figures from VWE Automotive show that, among other things, the import of used cars has fallen sharply.
VWE Automotive reports on the basis of the number of transactions in the period 1 to 25 March that the import of used vehicles has fallen sharply. During the first 25 days of March, only 4,000 used passenger cars were imported, a whopping 63 percent less than in the same period last year. Then 10,874 cars were brought to the Netherlands in the same period. In addition to uncertainty on the market, it is a factor that RDW has considerably reduced the number of inspections that it is currently carrying out.
The export of used cars in the first 25 days of March also lags considerably behind that of the same period last year. 21,638 used passenger cars were exported from 1 to 25 March, 22 percent less than the 27,575 used cars that disappeared abroad in the same period of 2019. At the end of the measured period, the drop is even more than 40 percent. Because many borders are closed, far fewer foreign buyers come to our country, VWE Automotive explains.
As for occasion sales, we’ve also seen better times. In the period 1 to 25 March, consumers sold 8.7 percent fewer used cars (35,882 units). With 81,298 pieces, car companies sold 6.5 percent fewer used cars to consumers.
MOT
The number of MOTs that were carried out in the measured period was 5.3 percent higher than in the same period last year. Workplaces are generally open and the fact that the Dutch consumer currently has more time, mostly through working from home, is related to this. In the provinces with the longest corona problems, the increase in the number of MOTs carried out is the highest. For example, an increase of 10 percent can be observed in North Brabant and almost 20 percent more MOTs were performed in Limburg.