All of a sudden, used cars, for years the Cinderella of the automotive sector, toiling away in the basement keeping the bulk of the nation mobile and supporting the sale of new ones, are making headlines. Most of them concern telephone number sales rises but only because last year’s covid-capped figures were so dismal.
Digging through all the numbers and percentages, two that fascinate me, however, aren’t so big. The first is the 1.3% rise in sales of used plug-in hybrids, a figure comparable with the number of new plug-ins bought in 2015 and second, the fact that just 12.7% of all cars sold were less than three years old. It’s a reminder, if any were needed, that used car buyers buy used to save money first and the planet – well, if we’re honest, a distant last.
It’s something legislators and car makers are going to have get their heads around. BEVs, PHEVs and the rest may be the latest shiny baubles but down in the basement, the rest of us, straining under the pressures of rising taxes, energy bills, house prices and fuel prices, have only one thing on our mind – value for money. Throw in the spectre of inflation in the not too distant and that search is only going to intensify.
This matters because, as car makers set course for the future, they risk leaving behind their used car customers. Their used car customers? That’s right, they may make new cars but the people who enable them to do so are the people who buy them after their first owners have got tired of them.
In short, used cars make the automotive world go around. Ensuring today’s exciting new models are relevant to their second owners and beyond will be key to keeping that world turning.
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As every fleet manager knows, BEVs have a lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) than ICE cars. So anyone who wants to save money in the long term should buy a used EV. When sticker prices of new EVs drop to ICE levels, it will be game over for dinosaur juice. Autocar journalists must know this, and yet they continue to write misleading articles like this, that big-up obsolete fossil fuel technology that pollutes our air and locks us into volatile fuel prices that only benefit dodgy regimes around the world. Autocar are not on our side, people.
New cars will soon be supplied by subscription services, direct from the manufacturers, albeit fulfilled by retailers - Used will be the new New, and switched-on manfacturers & large dealer groups are already designing this future reality. Take note of those taking this seriously, because they're the ones who will still be around in 2030.
New cars will soon be supplied by subscription services, direct from the manufacturers, albeit fulfilled by retailers - Used will be the new New, and switched-on manfacturers & large dealer groups are already designing this future reality. Take note of those taking this seriously, because they're the ones who will still be around in 2030.