Used car prices in the EU fell last year, experts predict this trend will continue

The latest price snapshot from AUTO1 Group showed that EU used car prices fell by 3.3% in 2024, from an index value of 142.0 in January to 137.3 in December.

Used car prices remained stable in December 2024: the index changed little from 137.2 in November to 137.3 in December (+0.07%). Compared to last year, used car prices fell by 6.5% from December 2023 to December 2024.

Despite these declines, used car prices remain 17.1% higher than before the COVID pandemic, as measured in December 2019, when the index was 117.3. The starting point for the AUTO1 price index is January 2015, with a base value of 100.

European car dealers predict further price declines

According to the results of a recent AUTO1 survey of European dealer partners, a minority (11.0%) believe that current prices are having a very negative impact on their business, down 27 percentage points from last year. 30.7% of dealers perceive current price levels as very positive for their business, compared to 7.6% a year ago, up 23.1 percentage points. The improvement in positive sentiment is led by France, where the majority of dealers (39.0%) report a positive impact on used car prices, followed by Spain (35.0%) and Poland (34.5%). In line with last year’s results (54.4% of respondents), the majority (58.3%) of dealers in the latest AUTO1.com survey say that current price levels are neutral for their business and have no impact on it.

“In last year’s survey, used car dealers across Europe predicted a decline in used car prices in 2024,” says Moritz Lück, Senior Vice President Sales and Operations at AUTO1 Group. Reflecting on the current positive sentiment regarding price levels, he continues: “We expected that lower prices would increase affordability, ultimately contributing to more used car transactions in the market, as reported by almost 90% of our European dealer partners. The fact that the current price level is either not affecting or positively contributing to their business underlines the importance of affordability in the used car market.”

Over a third (34.6%) of respondents believe that used car prices will remain stable in 2025 (compared to 25.9% a year earlier), while over 21% of dealers believe that prices will increase this year (compared to 13% last year). Almost half of European used car dealers (44.0%) expect used car prices to decrease in 2025, down 12.9 percentage points from last year.

“We share the optimism of our partners and remain deeply committed to their success. Our teams are more motivated than ever to develop innovative solutions that enable our dealer partners to buy and sell cars with even greater efficiency and ease in the coming year,” says Moritz Lück.

Until recently, the price picture in the Ukrainian domestic car market was also relatively calm, with the exception of the last two months of 2024, when a significant increase in average prices was recorded. You can read more about this at this link.

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Reference : The AUTO1 price index shows the monthly change in prices for used cars in the EU. It is determined based on an analysis of over 3.6 million used car sales transactions across Europe. The starting point of this index is January 2015 with a base value of 100, against which all subsequent values are determined.