AUTO1.com: Electric vehicles are arriving in the used car market

AUTO1.com analyzed its electric vehicle data and conducted an online survey among partners to present an electric vehicle market study for 2021.
AUTO1.com’s online survey among 16,700 partners shows that trading EVs is still a challenge in some markets, but European dealers plan to trade more EVs in 2022.
+100% year-over-year growth of traded electric vehicles (including battery-electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid) on AUTO1.com.
In 2021, around 80% of electric vehicles (EVs) were sold cross-border due to differences in supply, demand, and price levels across markets.

Berlin, 05.05.2022 - AUTO1.com, Europe's largest wholesale platform for used cars, analyzed EV trading data, and conducted its own online survey among 16,700 partners. AUTO1.com records a year-over-year growth of over 100% in the B2B trading of battery-electric (BEV), plug-in-hybrid (PHEVs), and hybrid vehicles (HEVs) in 2021, totaling more than 11,500 unit sales. The increasing numbers show that EVs are arriving in the used car market.

The overall trend of EVs is undeniable. In 2020, global electric car stocks hit the 10 million mark1 (Battery electric vehicles (BEV) and Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV)), with a 43% increase from 2019. In 2021, 37.6% of the newly registered passenger cars in Europe were electrically chargeable.2 According to McKinsey, Europe plays an important role and is on its way to outrunning China and the USA in terms of electrically chargeable vehicles.3 The International Energy Agency (IEA) states in the Global EV Outlook 20214 that Europe is the pioneer in the global electrification of the automotive industry. In 2021, hybrid electric vehicles accounted for 19.6% of all new passenger cars registered across the EU, compared to 11.9% in 2020.

Two European policies were the main drivers of this growth. Firstly, the European Union’s Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions standards limit the average CO2 emissions per kilometer driven by new cars. Secondly, the number of subsidy programs for EVs increased as part of economic stimulus packages by many European governments, primarily consisting of financial incentives to support the purchase of electric vehicles. These initiatives aim to counter the effects of the pandemic and boost environmentally-friendly mobility.

Cross-border trading and AUTO1.com network effect

AUTO1.com is actively buying and selling cars in over 30 countries in Europe as the registered partners benefit from cross-border trading through local price differences and a wider selection of a European car stock. As a result, BEVs, HEVs, and PHEVs are not limited to local trade since the car supply and demand may drastically vary across different countries. Cross-border trading of BEVs, HEVs, and PHEVs on AUTO1.com amounted to almost 80% in 2021, mainly due to differences in supply, demand, and price levels across markets. Looking at the markets, different levels of demand can be observed. In 2021, AUTO1.com recorded the highest demand for electric and hybrid cars in Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. According to ACEA5, there are important factors, such as the number of charging points per 100 km of road, that correlate with the local market conditions of alternatively-powered vehicles. For example, of the 259,884 charging points available in the European Union in 2021, more than 30% were located in the Netherlands (82,172), which partially explains why a higher demand in countries with advanced infrastructure for EVs is observed6. Furthermore, taxations on used car imports to Nordic countries such as Denmark and Finland are structured to favor EVs, thus increasing demand. The share of EVs in the new car segment is significantly higher than in the used car segment. Countries like Germany support the purchase of an EV with high subsidies to meet the European Unions’ CO2 emission standards. Customers and companies can only receive these subsidies when purchasing a new car.7 Additionally, due to governmental regulations and benefits, companies are becoming more incentivized to increase their share of alternative fuel types every year.

The inventory composition

In 2021, the top three brands for EVs traded on AUTO1.com were Toyota, Tesla, and Volkswagen. In the majority of the European countries AUTO1.com operates in, Toyota Hybrid models are the most popular EVs traded on the platform. Toyota is also maintaining its lead in the new car segment over former industry leader Volkswagen for the second year in a row for global vehicle sales. As the used car market follows in the footsteps of the new car market, similar proportions of market shares can be observed on AUTO1.com with a slight delay.

In 2021, cars between one and five years old represented almost 60% of all BEVs, HEVs, and PHEVs traded by AUTO1.com. Around 40% of all EVs traded had mileage between 10,000 and 50,000 km. This is clearly showing that the used global EV fleet still consists of younger cars compared to traditional combustion engine cars. Therefore, similarly more EVs are traded among younger car segments on AUTO1.com.

Looking at the different suppliers of AUTO1.com, OEMs, rental, and leasing companies have a higher share of EVs in their car portfolio than independent or franchise dealers or consumers. On one hand, OEMs, rental, and leasing companies usually de-fleet cars after 6 to 48 months. This short period shows that the inventory composition of these companies follows the new car market trends closely, resulting in a younger fleet of cars. Independent and franchise dealers or consumers, on the other hand, do not have a specific timeframe to sell cars, though they mostly do after 48 months. This results in trading older cars and thus lower EV shares. Another point to consider is that OEMs have been manufacturing more new EV models in the previous years due to high government subsidies and other regulations, which leads to a high share of EVs in their portfolios.

AUTO1.com dealer survey underlines the growing importance of EVs in the used car market

In January 2022, AUTO1.com conducted an online survey among more than 16,700 partners about the traded used electrically-chargeable cars in 2021 and their expectations for 2022. The results show that 34% of participants sold at least one used EV in 2021, and 43% are expecting to sell at least one EV in 2022. More dealer groups and franchise dealers traded EVs than independent dealers in 2021, with 70% of the former selling at least one used EV and 31% of the latter doing the same. Around one-third of the dealer groups and franchise dealers even sold a minimum of 20 used EVs that year, while only 6% of independent dealers traded that many units.

In alignment with the overall European studies on electric mobility, the answers of the dealer network of AUTO1.com also show that dealers in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland) and the Netherlands proportionally traded more used EVs than other European countries in 2021. Almost 60% of Nordic dealers and 47% of the Dutch dealers sold at least one used EV in the previous year compared to the European average of 34%. Furthermore, 14% of the Nordic dealers traded more than 100 EVs in 2021 - seven times the European level of 2%. In 2022, around 18% of the Nordic dealers are expecting to sell at least 100 EVs.
Except for the Nordic countries and the Netherlands, the results of the EV survey did not vary significantly among countries. In terms of selling at least one EV unit in 2021, dealers located in Belgium (37%) and Italy (38%) are above the EU average, whereas Germany (33%) and France (32%) are slightly below, together with Spain (29%) and Poland (20%). Regarding the expected units for this year, Belgium (46%), the Netherlands (56%), and Italy (44%) are above the European average of 43% in terms of trading at least one EV. In Germany (35%), Spain (39%), France (41%), and Poland (29%) the expectations are below the EU average. It can be observed that the transition toward EVs is still somehow a challenge in some countries as the numbers differ by market. An acceleration in the EV trend can be seen when looking at the new car registrations.

"The trends we observe in the new car market are always later transmitted into the used car market: The new cars of today are the used cars of tomorrow. As the biggest European wholesale platform for used cars in Europe, we, therefore, see overall market trends naturally reflected on our platform. The younger the cars, the higher the EV share. We can observe that EVs are now arriving with relevant volumes in the used car market. Together with the industry we constantly update our services on trends and current developments. That is why we updated the EVA app and all systems with EV-specific information, like simply checking the existence of the charging cable. The app now covers all the necessary fields and data points for the digitalization, pricing, and consequently successful trading of EVs.", says Jost Dieckhaus, VP Remarketing Europe AUTO1 Group.

"We are a European company at heart. With an increasing number of alternatively powered vehicles in Europe, AUTO1.com will trade those as used cars to more than 60,000 registered partners. Our wholesale platform contributes to easy and digital used car trading across borders, also supporting the higher shares of electric vehicles. With us, dealers get access to the European B2B used car market and can participate in the transformation of the automotive industry. Dealers across Europe can always rely on a diverse inventory, including an increasing share of electrically-chargeable used cars.", says Dr. Moritz Lück, SVP Sales & Operations Europe AUTO1 Group.