Stable prices and increased sales - despite the economic crisis

Used car sales are increasing again. The third quarter was the best in two years. At the same time, prices have stabilized – at record high levels.

Inflation, high interest rates and increased exports continue to drive demand for used cars. Although prices fell by a marginal 0.7 percent in the third quarter, this followed three consecutive quarters of rising prices, leaving the price level still at the second highest ever.

Diesel up, the rest drops

Prices for diesel cars rose by 3.2 percent, while other fuel categories showed a decline. The largest price decrease was seen for gasoline cars (-10.2%), followed by plug-in hybrids (-1.6%) and electric cars (-0.6%).

“The decline for petrol cars follows an unexpectedly strong rise in the second quarter and it should be borne in mind that we continue to see historically high price levels,” says our sales manager Daniel Odsberg. When it comes to electric cars, we see a stabilization after the big price drop last year. The price correction for electric cars has been significant, but it now seems that the price level is where buyers believe it should be.

Since the inflation crisis began in the spring of 2022, prices have increased by 8.7 percent, and it is primarily the fossil-fueled stock that is behind the increase. Gasoline cars have increased by 9.1 percent and diesel cars by 6.6 percent. Plug-in hybrids, on the other hand, have experienced a decline of 2.3 percent, while electric cars have lost a whopping 13 percent.

Highest sales figure in two years

A total of 323,846 used cars were sold in the third quarter, distributed across the car trade, private market and companies. This corresponds to an increase of 3.9 percent compared to the same period last year, and marks the strongest quarter since the third quarter of 2021.

– In economically weaker times, it is natural for people to look for cheaper alternatives to reduce their monthly costs, and then they prefer to choose a used car. Now we are seeing this increase we have been talking about for so long, says Daniel Odsberg.

Odsberg believes that sales can continue to increase. In addition to economic drivers, he sees opportunities in the fact that more new cars are now being delivered.

– The new car market continues to face challenges, especially on the private side. But recently, registrations have increased, especially from companies. These are cars that were ordered over a year ago when the order books were full. The cars are now being delivered and this will mean more trade-ins and an improved range on the second-hand market, says Daniel Odbserg, Sales Manager Kvdbil .

Electric cars and plug-in hybrids have shown somewhat lower sales growth than we have previously been accustomed to in recent quarters. However, growth returned to more normal levels in the third quarter. Plug-in hybrids increased by 85.5 percent and electric cars by 85.4 percent.

Increased sales were registered in 15 of 21 counties. The largest increase was in Stockholm County (+10.9%), Jönköping County (+7.8%) and Halland (+7.1%). Exports were slightly lower than in the second quarter, but compared to the same period a year ago, the increase is significant, with a full 26.3 percent more cars sold abroad.

Volvo V70 back on its throne

After two quarters where more Volkswagen Golfs were sold than Volvo V70s, the V70 reclaims its title as Sweden's best-selling used car. During the third quarter, over 15,300 Volvo V70s were sold, compared to around 14,900 Volkswagen Golfs. The Volkswagen Passat retains third place on the list with around 10,600 cars sold.

Sales statistics for the used market, Q3 2023

About the compilation
Kvdbil 's statistics on used car purchases in Sweden are obtained from the Swedish Car Register via the statistics company Vroom. The price trend is based on sales at kvdbil.se (approximately 20,000 per year) and is measured through the BPI (Car Price Index) by the sister company bilpriser.se .