This is a consequence of the skyrocketing prices of used cars and the lack of purchasing power of the French. More and more of these purchases are now made on credit, almost 3 out of 10 according to the figures collected by La Centrale, which presents itself as the “first specialized automotive market”.
An increase in the use of credit at times.
“It was a strong trend for a few years, but it is clearly accelerating with inflation: in 2022, the use of credit to buy a used car increased by 4.5%, which corresponds to an increase of more than 15% in a year. constant market (not taking into account last year’s collapse, editor’s note)”, stresses Antoine Despujols, strategy director at La Centrale.
In this context, the site, which brings together ads from numerous dealers, now offers more than 180,000 ads for used vehicles available with financing offers. Thus we can search for a vehicle with, as criteria, the maximum monthly payment that we are able to pay. In the ad, you can also vary the contribution and the duration, to obtain an estimate of the amount to be returned each month, then send this request to the distributor.
Financing offers offered by the nearly 8,000 distribution partners of this platform, but which sometimes lacked visibility compared to traditional bank credit.
Of the 40% of pre-owned vehicles financed (30% credit, 10% via LOA rent-to-own deals), only 1 in 3 loans are made with a dealer today.
“This allows us to further promote these offers, especially to our exclusive audience who only visit our site when looking for a car,” explains Antoine Despujols.
The idea of ”unifying the shopping experience” is also maintained, offering both the purchase of the vehicle, its financing and the recovery, with the site “mavoiturecash.fr” which belongs to the same group.
A price increase of almost 50% in three years
Given the rise in second-hand prices, estimated at 43.7% between the pre-covid period and December 2022, the French have resorted to older vehicles, says a recent study by La Centrale. “With an equivalent budget, the French buy a vehicle 3 years older on average and 45,000 more kilometers”, it could be read.
Although prices have stabilized since the beginning of the year, they remain at historically very high levels.
“Buying a car remains an important and limited purchase item for many French people,” recalls Antoine Despujols, who is targeting 250,000 eligible ads for a short-term financing solution.
Source: BFM TV
