Recent data from A and the National Association of Vehicle Dealers (Ancove) show that the average price of used cars in the past month reached 12,487 €, marking a notable rise. The association’s general manager noted that this is a 17% increase from last year and a 2.4% rise from the prior month, with Eric Iglesias describing the peak as possibly the highest price ever recorded.
In 2022, the average price began at 12,221 € and reached 12,255 € by March. The year’s high point occurred in July, while the lowest average for the year was in June at 12,187 €. Prices jumped again in July, achieving a historic milestone in the used-car market. Data indicate that last month the average price for cars over eight years old stood at 9,519 €, up 17.5% compared with the same month in 2021.
The market is under pressure
The rise in average prices has been driven by stronger demand paired with tighter supply and a slower introduction of fresh stock in new vehicles. This combination contributed to a drop in used-vehicle transfers last month, down 7.8% to 144,584 units, according to figures from Faconauto and Ganvam. The result reflects a challenging semester overall. Nevertheless, the ratio of used to new car sales stood at 2.2 to 1 in July, and for the year to date the second-hand market has contracted by 4.7%, totaling around 1.06 million units.
Raul Morales, communications director for Faconauto, explains that unless the registration rate improves, used-car transfers will continue to fall due to a shortage of stock in the most sought-after models from zero to five years. The sales of second-hand vehicles have dropped 24.8% in July, with declines of 21.1% for cars aged one to three years.
The Ganvam and Faconauto teams note that rental and fleet channels have not been able to refresh their inventories because supply remains tight. This has led to declines of 23.7% in rental fleets, 15.1% in corporate fleets, and 12.3% in another segment. Both groups agree that there is still a need to rely on foreign markets to source vehicles, which helps explain the rapid growth of imports, up 37% in July and an overall increase of 49% so far this year.
Concerning propulsion trends, diesel continues to dominate the used-car market, accounting for 58% of all transactions last month. Gasoline remains significant but trails behind diesel, making up 35.9% of the market. Electric vehicles, by contrast, still represent a small share, at only 0.7% of the total.