How have Europe’s largest used-car markets performed in the first half of 2024?

30 August 2024

As new-car registrations fluctuate across Europe’s big five markets, are used-car transactions following a similar trend? Autovista24 special content editor Phil Curry explores the figures, together with editor Tom Geggus.

France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK all recorded used-car market growth in the second quarter of the year. These improvements have built on strong performances in the first three months of the year. This means all markets are up in the first half of the year when compared to the same period in 2023.

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Strong used-car foundations

The big five European used-car markets all recorded growth in the first quarter of 2024. This provided a strong foundation for the rest of the year. Four markets saw a decline in March due to the early Easter period, placing emphasis on their performance in April. Would they bounce back, or was it the beginning of a downward trend?

In the second quarter, results across the markets were mixed. Two recorded growth across all three months, while the others saw monthly declines or stability.

However, each market saw overall year-on-year improvements, which bolstered figures in the first half. With corresponding growth in new-car markets, more models will become available on the used-car market. This means a greater choice of models and powertrains for buyers.

France remains strong

The French new-car market started to struggle in the second quarter of 2024, growing by just 0.2% year on year. However, the country’s used-car market remained strong. A total of 1,357,084 units changed hands between April and June, a 4.2% increase on the same period last year.

The sector bounced back from a poor performance in March, which was impacted by an early Easter holiday. Figures from AAA Data show that in April, transactions were up by 10.4%, as buyers returned to the market. In May, transactions were up by 2.7%, while in June they remained stable.

The results pushed the French used-car market into growth of 3.1% in the first half of the year. In total, 2,693,450 transactions were recorded between January and June.

AAA Data highlighted that the market is seeing improvement in the transactions of cleaner vehicles. Those adhering to the country’s ‘Crit’Air 0’ stickers, made up of zero-emission models including battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), enjoyed particular success. These models saw growth of 64% in April, followed by gains of 58% in May and 73% in June.

Models conforming to ‘Crit’Air 1’ also saw strong gains, up 28% in April, then 18% in May and 19% in June.

The French new-car market grew by 2.8% in the first half, due to the poor performance in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the used-car market has now outperformed it after starting the year on the back foot.

Italy sees used-car slowdown

Used-car transactions in Italy performed strongly in the second quarter of 2024, with 9% growth across the three months. A total of 1,350,123 transactions took place, according to industry association ANFIA.

This means the country ended the first half of the year with used-car transactions up 8.7%. However, the end of the half saw a significant slowdown, with just a 0.5% improvement in June. This contrasted with April’s 20.6% growth, the market’s best performance since May 2021. Transactions also grew 7.1% in May this year.

Italy’s new-car market has seen some peaks and troughs this year. Double-digit growth was recorded in three months of the first half, but two months of declines as well. This meant registrations ended the second quarter up by 5%. Meanwhile, the first six months of the year saw deliveries increase by 5.3%, outpaced by the used-car sector.

Spain on top

The Spanish used-car market was the fastest growing of Europe’s big five automotive regions in the second quarter. A total of 522,562 models changed hands, 12.1% higher than the same period last year.

This was helped by an April bounce-back with growth of 38.3%. May saw transactions improve by 8.6%, while there was a 5.5% decline in June. With a 2.8% improvement in the first quarter, Spain ended the first half of 2024 with used-car transactions showing a 7.5% improvement.

Industry body GANVAM highlighted that sales of used cars between one and three years of age have been driving the market, up 33.9% in the first half of the year. Furthermore, the renewal of fleets by rental companies and leasing companies has supplied the second-hand market with a stream of young vehicles.

Meanwhile, in a boost for plans to reduce the country’s ageing car parc, sales of models between 10 and 15 years old fell by more than 9% until June.

More than half of sales were diesel models overall. However, transactions of BEVs increased by 60% in the first half of the year, while those of used PHEVs have grew by 90%.

Germany remains steady

In the first half of 2024, Germany’s new-car market suffered two months of declines. However, this was in comparison to impressive figures recorded in 2023. The market is still finding its balance following the removal of battery-electric vehicle incentives last year.

The country’s used-car market followed a similar pattern. Transactions were up 27.5% in April, thanks to customers finalising purchases after the early Easter break. Following this, there was a 4.6% improvement in used-car sales in May, and then a 1.5% decline in June.

This meant that by the end of the second quarter, the market had improved by 9.4% year on year. After the first six months of 2024, a total of 3,264,796 passenger cars had changed hands, an increase of 8.6%. The new-car market growth was not able to keep up with this pace.

UK on a high

Used-car transactions in the UK reached 1,963,395 in the second quarter of 2024, a 7.2% improvement year on year. This is according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). With the new-car market only recording growth of 1.3% in the same period, the used-car market easily outperformed it.

The UK was the only market within the big five to record used-car growth in every month of the first half of 2024. Unlike France, Italy, Spain and Germany, there was no decline due to the earlier Easter holiday in March, but also no bounce-back in April. Instead, transaction growth remained steady. A 9.1% improvement in April was followed by a 7.3% increase in May and a 5% rise in June.

After the first six months of 2024, the used-car market was up 6.8% compared to the same period last year. While only beating France in terms of volume growth, the total of 3,931,318 units was the largest of the big five.

The SMMT highlighted that in the second quarter, BEVs saw growth of 52.6%. The powertrain’s market used-car market share grew from 1.7% in the same three-month period last year, to a record 2.4% between April and June 2024.

Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) transactions grew 25.2% in the quarter, and full hybrids improved 43.6%. Internal-combustion engine-powered models accounted for 92.4% of transactions, down from 94.3% in the second quarter of 2023. Petrol improved by 9.2%, while diesel dropped by 1.2%.