The used car year 2020

2020 was a major challenge for everyone, and car dealers have also had a turbulent year. First, many dealers were affected by the closures of car dealerships and registration offices, then some used car dealers benefited from the increased demand for their own cars.

Facts, figures and data: What car dealers need to know about 2020

A look at ownership registrations in 2020 shows that Volkswagen is still the best-selling used car in Germany. Even though the manufacturer from Wolfsburg suffered a slight decline of 1.7%, VW remains the most popular brand with almost 1.5 million used cars sold in 2020.

Mercedes, on the other hand, did not exceed half of VW's registrations, despite an increase of just under 1%. Opel follows in third place in the registration table with 670,000 vehicles and a whopping 10% decline compared to the number of new registrations in the previous year. BMW and Audi complete the top 5 most popular used cars in Germany, ensuring that only German brands are ranked 1-5.

Audi most popular, Volkswagen most common

It is also interesting to take a look at the dealers' offers and customers' search queries. This reveals a problem: although most customers search for Audi on mobile.de, Volkswagens are most frequently offered. Only in Bavaria and Hesse are BMWs the most popular makes, while in Hamburg it is Mercedes that is most searched for. In the rest of the country, Audi is the most popular, judging by the search queries on mobile.de.

Use car auctions to buy Audi

Dealers should take advantage of this opportunity and buy more Audi cars. With car auction providers such as CarOnSale, dealers can buy these vehicles cheaply as lease returns, government vehicles or accident vehicles and sell them on to end customers. There is still great potential here in many federal states.

Electric vehicles do not yet play a role in used cars

The share of electric vehicles amounted to 0.3% last year. Electric mobility therefore plays no role in the used car trade. However, the share of diesel vehicles in all used car sales last year is still relatively constant at 32%. End customers seem to appreciate the cheaper diesel vehicles as an attractive alternative to petrol cars.

Car dealers enter 2021 with good momentum

Much of the business that was lost in the spring and summer was postponed but not canceled. This is shown by a comparison of sales figures with the previous year. In both November and December, the used car dealer business grew strongly by 8.2% and 12.4% respectively. The number of vehicles in stock also fell by an average of 2.4%, which speaks for the successful sale of used cars.

Restore vehicle stock via auctions

The vehicle stock at dealers, which has fallen over 2020, should now be restored to meet the demand after the lockdown. As a used car dealer, take the opportunity to use car auctions, such as CarOnSale, to buy exactly the vehicles your customers want now. Car dealerships should also use auctions to market dealer vehicles throughout Germany and prevent them from becoming slow sellers without any effort