If the new car continues to lose ground in 2024, the used vehicle remains as attractive as ever. Barring any incidents in the last two months of the year, the used vehicle market should increase slightly compared to 2023, with more than 5.3 million units. We will far exceed this figure (5.7 million at the end of November). The 6 million transactions observed in 2021 may not be reached, but the dynamic is there. A machine widely used in France by three regions in particular, according to figures from Site de l’Auto, a specialist dealer of used vehicles on a European scale. These are indeed the figures from the Site de l’Auto database and not the true complete values of the French territory: the average prices observed are therefore those referenced on the platform and not necessarily the real average prices. But more than the absolute value, it is above all the gap between regions that is interesting to note. The methodology is explained by the Site de l’Auto: “This ranking, established in September 2024, is based on data from the Site de l’Auto. It was carried out based on the volume of purchases made by customers on the site and the average amount of baskets recorded”. Although it is not entirely faithful to reality, it already provides an interesting overview.
The most expensive are not in Paris
It is therefore in New Aquitaine that the most used vehicles are sold on the Site de l’Auto platform, with 21% of sales and an average price of €28,790. Next comes the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with 14% of sales and an average price of €35,596, making it the region where the most expensive used cars are sold in France. Ahead of Île-de-France (14% of sales, average price of €29,346) and the PACA region (9% of sales, average price of €32,797).
These figures, even if they come from a platform with sometimes more expensive ads than the average, still show a real underlying trend since 2020: the general increase in the price of used cars. And, paradoxically, it is the electric ones that allow the average price to be lowered on the most recent ones, with often a significant discount! On the other hand, recent hybrid or thermal vehicles (less than 5 years old) remain quite expensive. And diesels, totally disavowed on new ones, are not unworthy second hand. During this fall, the specialist Opteven effectively confirmed the renewed interest in recent diesels (less than 5 years old) used in France, with prices which remain generally sustained.
