The sale of used cars took off in March. According to industry association Bovag, this is mainly due to the fact that it was possible for buyers to visit the showroom by appointment. However, fewer occcasions were sold in the first quarter of 2021 than in 2020.
In March, garages and car dealers sold 118,831 used cars to consumers. Nearly 63,000 cars exchanged owners among private individuals. Last year, in March it was 94,140 and 58,088 cars respectively. The used car sales thus grew by 26.2 percent, while private sales increased by 8.4 percent. Overall, the percentage increase is 19.4 percent. It should be noted, however, that it was already relatively quiet at car companies in March last year, because the impact of the corona crisis was still relatively unclear at the time. As a result, consumers were cautious about making large purchases.
In the first two months of this year, the possibilities for used cars were much more limited. As a result of the corona measures, only test drives could be offered at home. It was also possible to buy a used car online. Despite the final sprint in March, fewer used cars were sold in the measurement period this year compared to last year. In the first quarter, this concerned 318,537 used cars sold by specialist retailers, compared to 321,033 a year earlier. In addition, this year involved 174,172 transactions between private individuals. That was 177,287 in the first quarter of 2020. The total number of used cars that changed hands therefore decreased by 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 2020.
In any case, the improving used car sales contrasts sharply with the sales of new cars in March. There was a decrease of almost 18 percent.