Sales are increasing – but prices are falling

Over 292,000 used cars changed hands in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 4.7 percent compared to the same period last year. The largest increase is in electric cars, with sales increasing by over 80 percent. At the same time, prices are falling – especially for electric cars.

Sales in the used car market continued at a strong pace during the first quarter. A total of 292,301 used cars were sold, which is 13,217 more than during the same period in 2024 – an increase of 4.7 percent.

– Despite continued uncertainty in the economy, we see that many people are choosing to change cars and that the used market continues to grow. More and more people are discovering electric cars and plug-in hybrids on the second-hand market. During the first quarter, electrified vehicles accounted for over 16 percent of all sales, says Daniel Odsberg, Sales Manager at Kvdbil .

Electric cars are increasing the most – sales almost doubled

Electric cars saw the biggest increase during the quarter, with 22,054 cars sold – an increase of a whopping 86.6 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024. This means that electric cars now account for 7.5 percent of the total used market. Plug-in hybrids also saw a strong increase, with 25,425 vehicles sold, which corresponds to an increase of 19.5 percent.

At the same time, sales of gasoline and diesel cars are declining slightly, by 0.4 and 3.8 percent respectively.

“It is clear that consumers are increasingly demanding electrified alternatives. The maturity of the technology, improved range and falling prices mean that more people are daring to take the plunge,” says Odsberg.

Lower prices

But despite higher sales figures, prices are pointing downward. According to Bilpriser's used car price index (BPI), which is based on sales on kvd.se, the price level fell by a whopping 4.8 percent between February and March alone. Compared to the full year 2024, prices are now on average 4.6 percent lower.

– The price drop is clear, especially for electric cars where prices seemed to have stabilized for a while. There is no single explanation for the decline, but a continued strained economy is of course playing a role. Increased supply is also putting pressure on prices, says Daniel Odsberg.

– We had expected a stronger start to the year and that the decline would come later. But it came earlier than expected. At the same time, it should be remembered that the price decline is happening from high levels. Used prices have been rising for several years, and since this summer we have seen a trend break, he says.

Gotland in the top

Regionally, Gotland stands out with an increase of a whopping 17.2 percent compared to the first quarter of last year. Stockholm (+13.1%) and Kronoberg (+7.3%) also note strong sales growth.

Sales statistics for the passenger car market, Q1 2025

About the compilation
Kvdbil 's statistics on used car purchases in Sweden are obtained from the Swedish Vehicle Registry via the statistics company Vroom.