“Used car prices are likely to continue to rise amid the ongoing turmoil in new car supply caused by the crisis in metals, chips and so on. I see no light at the end of the tunnel over the next year or even two.”
This was stated to BTA in December 2022 by Lyubomir Dorosiev, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of the Association of Automobile Importers (ABA).
Increased demand on the secondary car market is observed not only in our country, but also in the countries of Western Europe, notes Dorosiev.
“It was a taboo for Westerners – everyone there bought a new car every two, three years. Right now they are in crisis there, just like us. The lack of new cars fuels the demand for used cars. That’s why they are so expensive. My opinion is that we won’t see a different situation soon. Prices can go down if the demand stops to some extent and the supply on the market is very high, but at the moment there are no conditions for that,” explained the deputy chairman of the ABA Executive Board.
Dealers of “second-hand” cars claim that the most popular in our country are cars that require minimal maintenance and have relatively low fuel consumption.
Old cars with diesel engines continue to dominate the market in Bulgaria, but machines with a higher Euro standard are sought after.
The sales in our country of used cars with gasoline engines, which are equipped with gas systems, are also increasing. However, their supply by car dealerships is limited.
In Britain, second-hand car sales fell sharply last year as fewer used cars came on the market, according to figures from British car dealers.
Due to auto parts shortages caused by production disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are not enough new cars on the market amid rising demand. Because of this, many car owners continue to drive them longer than they planned, or prefer to turn to the second-hand car market. Since 2021, however, prices in this market have been rising due to increased demand and relatively limited supply, only recently starting to stabilize.
The average price of a used Fiat Panda rose 18.7 per cent year-on-year to £5,765 (€6,499) in January this year, while the Toyota Avensis jumped up 17.9 percent to £5,825 (€6,567), according to data from motoring magazine Autotrader.
Not all second-hand cars have risen in price on the UK market. In January, the average price of the Suzuki Vitara SUV fell by 9 per cent to £14,786 (€16,689), while the Skoda Yeti fell by 9.4 per cent to £9,893 (€11,153).
Around 6.9 million used cars changed hands in Britain in 2022, well below the 7.5 million sold in 2021, according to UK trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Dealers (SMMT – SMMT).
The Island’s best-selling used cars in 2022 were the Ford Fiesta, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa and the Volkswagen Golf, according to SMM .
Among the used cars sold last year in the UK, black was the most common colour, followed by blue and grey.
Amid a general decline in sales, second-hand electric car sales are on the rise in the UK. In 2022, they were 71,071, an increase of 37.5 percent over 2021.
Sales of hybrid cars (with two engines – electric and gasoline) increased by 8.6 percent, and plug-in hybrids, whose batteries can be charged from the electrical network, by 3.6 percent, according to data from the British Community of car manufacturers and dealers.
Many people who live in smaller towns and rural areas in Britain are forced to travel by car due to the lack of well-organized public transport, notes the BBC. Others say they can’t rely on it because of a series of transport strikes that have periodically blocked different regions of the UK since last summer.
Against this background, there are not a few Britons on lower incomes, for whom it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy second-hand cars due to their rising prices. Increased demand and limited supply have pushed up the prices of many popular mainstream models at a time when the cost of living is rising significantly, the BBC points out.
