The opportunity is no longer popular. After reaching all-time highs and sometimes even surpassing those of new vehicles, published prices for used vehicles have fallen sharply since the beginning of the year. According to Leboncoin, prices for vehicles from 2 to 8 years old, which represent 45% of the ads published on the site, have fallen since the beginning of the year to reach -5.9% for vehicles from 2 to 5 years old and -6.6% for vehicles 5 to 8 years old.
This drop is significant, even if prices remain high and higher than those of the third quarter of 2022. For example, vehicles from 2 to 5 years old are sold on average for 25,890 euros on Leboncoin, or almost 2,000 euros less than in January , but still 1400 euros more than a year ago.
On the other hand, there is a category of vehicles that has been experiencing a constant decline for more than a year: electric cars. The average price displayed for these vehicles was 26,420 euros compared to 30,373 euros in January (-13%). Compared to the same period in 2022, the drop is even more spectacular since its price was 32,608 euros. In one year, the average price fell 18.5%.
Several elements help explain this rapid drop in prices. First, a rebalance between supply and demand. With the significant increase in registrations of new electric vehicles in recent years, a second-hand market has finally been able to form. In less than two years, the supply of vehicles on Leboncoin increased from 7,000 to more than 32,000, an increase of 350%. Therefore, decreasing scarcity automatically reduces prices.
Second-hand demand remains weak
Especially because the demand does not seem so extensible. Unlike thermal ones, the new ones are still largely preferred by electric vehicles. Demand for second-hand vehicles has barely changed over the last year, with electric vehicles making up just 1% of the second-hand market. Therefore, sellers are forced to lower their prices in order to get rid of their car.
If the French are reluctant to buy second-hand items, it is, first of all, because new products receive broad support with an ecological bonus of 5,000 euros or even 7,000 for low-income households. Therefore, the discount must be significant on the occasion to compete.
Especially since payment solutions such as rent to own (LOA) or long-term rental (LLD) are popular among new property buyers and account for the majority of purchases. Because of the ease of payment on the one hand and above all because electric battery technology advances rapidly.
In less than five years, the average range of electric vehicles sold has gone from 150 to 450 kilometers, according to Aramisauto. And manufacturers are racing to announce ever-larger ranges in the coming years. Buying a used electric car is the certainty of having a technologically obsolete model.
To these obstacles must be added the price war waged by new vehicle manufacturers at the initiative of Tesla. The price on the second-hand market follows the variations in catalog prices. With the arrival of Tesla’s redesigned Model 3, old versions that sometimes fetched second-hand prices for new ones have been in free fall for several months. Some 2021 models with medium mileage (60,000) are offered for less than 30,000 euros at Leboncoin or La Centrale. For older 2019 models with 80,000 kilometers or more traveled, the 25,000 euro mark is not far away. In 2022, it was impossible to find second-hand standard Model 3 for less than 33,000 euros on these resale sites.
Source: BFM TV
