The used is pulling like a train, other than car crisis. It remains only to understand what pushes Italians to buy a second-hand car, while the new ones are behind by 200,000 units compared to 2019. At the halfway point of the semester, used sales were 1,541 thousand against 2019 at 1,577 thousand. : the pre-Covid level has almost been recovered, it will be said. In reality, things are going even better. The changes of ownership must be purified of km0, which are not used and which are now much lower than two years ago. Thus, the used cars purchased this year remain just over a million and a half, 20,000 more than in 2019, when the km0 were over 80,000.
If the used volumes are good, the values are even better. From the InterAutoNews DataCenter, we learn that in 2021 the average value of used stock at dealerships increased by 15% compared to 2019 prices, reaching 9,700 euros against 8,400 two years ago, a figure that was the average of the years previous. Such an appreciation of values is even more surprising after a year of lock-down, in which transactions had fallen by more than 400,000 units. These cars, entering the market a year later, carry over a devaluation. If despite this the average value is much higher, it means that we are in the presence of a real race to grab a used one. It should be remembered that in the used car market, price is an important indicator of the strength of demand. Since all the cars that are offered are then bought, it is precisely the price that brings the seller and the buyer together: if it increases, it means that the demand is higher than the offer.
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The causes? Certainly the microchip crisis, by expanding production and delivery times beyond measure, is making its weight felt. However, it is difficult to believe that it is the main cause, also because there are so many who simply decide to postpone the operation until the production flows have returned to normal. Rather, they are likely to be the first hints of that Cuba effect already imagined years ago, in response to the confusion and limitations of the offer on new cars. Finally, there is the simple reality that recent used cars are often well maintained and equipped with comfort and safety systems that are very close to new. The manufacturers and dealers know little about it, because they are happy to drive around with the very latest models of their production. If they were to use five to ten year old used cars on a daily basis, they would know firsthand what those motorists are driving to whom they plan to offer their latest innovations. Putting yourself in the customer’s shoes is the first rule of marketing.