Romain Rouillard / Photo credit: FRÉDériC SCHEIBER / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 7:00 a.m., April 2, 2024

According to the results of La Centrale's Quarterly Observatory, the average price of used vehicles is down in this first quarter of 2024, compared to the last quarter of the previous year. A trend which can be explained in particular by market regulation.

This is good news for the purchasing power of the French. The average price of used vehicles, which soared during the Covid-19 crisis, due to component shortages affecting the new market, continues to decline. According to the results of the quarterly Observatory of La Centrale, the leading site for used vehicle advertisements, prices are down 2.6%, or 590 euros, in this first quarter of 2024, compared to the last quarter of Last year. Over one year, the drop even reached 4.7%, all categories combined. On average, you have to pay 21,900 euros to buy a used vehicle (compared to 22,980 euros in the first quarter of 2023). 

This trend, which is confirmed or even accentuated, is particularly visible with regard to electric or hybrid vehicles. In this category, the decline stands at 4.4% compared to the previous quarter, but amounts to 12.6% over one year. The average price thus increases from 31,990 euros to 30,590 euros.

A market that is stabilizing 

According to Anaïs Harmant, marketing director of La Centrale, everything is a question of market regulation. “The resumption of deliveries of new cars is lowering the prices of used vehicles, and demand is increasing, but not at any price. The French will gain purchasing power and be able to choose more used cars recent, with fewer kilometers or cleaner engines. During the last quarter of 2023, the reduction in prices observed was even the largest since December 2019, just before the outbreak of the health crisis. 

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In detail, all age groups are affected by this drop in prices, with the exception of vehicles registered between 2009 and 2016 (+0.9%) and those over 15 years old whose prices stabilize 'one quarter over the next at 7,990 euros. These two categories are also the only ones whose prices are increasing compared to the first quarter of 2023 (+14.9% and +15.8%). Apart from electric and hybrid vehicles, the most remarkable drop concerns those aged 2 to 4 years (-3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023), i.e. a gain of 500 euros.