Sales of used commercial vehicles up to 3,500 kilograms by car companies increased by 4.2% in 2017. In total, car companies sold 97,425 used light commercial vehicles in 2017. Sales of used passenger cars also increased. A total of 1,812,110 used passenger cars were traded, up 0.1% on 2016.
This is according to figures from business service provider for the automotive industry VWE Automotive. A total of 174,449 used commercial vehicles were sold last year. 97,425 of these were supplied by car companies, while 77,024 were sold by end users to other end users. Sales between end users grew significantly less than sales of used cars by car companies, at 0.8%.
Volkswagen is most sold used commercial vehicle
Volkswagen is, as in 2016, the top-selling used car brand in the light commercial vehicle segment. A total of 23,218 used cars of the brand were sold in 2017, which is 7.8% more than in 2016. Ford saw its share rise the fastest at 10%, followed by Toyota (+9.5%) and Mercedes-Benz (+8.1%). Sales of used commercial vehicles of the brands Hyundai (-15.8%), Land Rover (-10.3%) and Nissan (-8.2%) fell the hardest.
Source: VWE Automotive
Looking at the most sold car models, Volkswagen is also in the lead. A total of 10,837 used Volkswagen Caddy cars were sold in 2017, making it the most sold used commercial vehicle of 2017. Sales of the model increased by 10.9% compared to 2016. The Volkswagen Transporter follows with 9,254 units sold, which is 6.3% more than in 2016. The Peugeot Partner is in third place with 6,200 used units sold, representing a 6.3% increase over 2016.
Sales of both the Ford Transit Custom (+46.6%), Ford Transit Connect (+14.5%) and Fiat Doblò (+10.4%) rose sharply. However, sales of the Mercedes-Benz Citan grew the fastest, at 72.3%. Interestingly, used sales of its sister model Renault Kangoo Express actually fell by 6.5%. Similar differences in sales of sister models can also be seen for the Peugeot Partner (+4.3%) and Citroën Berlingo (-2.3%), as well as the Fiat Ducato (-9.3%), the Citroën Jumper (-7.7%) and the Peugeot Boxer (+0.4%). No Asian manufacturer appears in the top 30 in 2017.
Source: VWE Automotive
Imports up sharply
Imports of used commercial vehicles rose sharply in 2017. A total of 16,192 used commercial vehicles were imported, which is 18.6% more than in 2016. The increase is due to growing domestic demand for used commercial vehicles. 47.5% of all imported used cars came from Germany, followed by Belgium (22%) and France (13.9%). Denmark (3.2%) and Poland (2.2%) complete the top five.
Mercedes-Benz remains by far the most imported brand of used commercial vehicle in the Netherlands. Imports of Fords (+44%) and Renaults (+40%) rose the fastest, but other brands also saw a sharp increase in imports. Fiat and Citroën are exceptions. Of these brands, 3% and 2% fewer used commercial vehicles were imported, respectively.
Most imported models
Looking at models, it is noticeable that both Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen feature twice in the top 5. The top 5 most imported commercial vehicles are as follows:
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (3,053 imported, +9.3%)
- Iveco Daily (1,075 models imported, +21.6%)
- Volkswagen Transporter (945 imported used cars, +12.2%)
- Volkswagen Caddy (914 imported vehicles, +14.3%)
- Mercedes-Benz Vito (877 commercial vehicles imported, +14.9%)
Exports of used commercial vehicles also increased. A total of 40,225 commercial vehicles were exported, which is 2.7% more than in 2016. Poland is again the largest sales market; 20.1% of all used commercial vehicles were exported to this Eastern European country. Romania ranked second with 12.2%, followed by Belgium with 8.2%. Ukraine accounted for 7.6% of exported commercial vehicles, while 6.2% were exported to Georgia.
Used passenger cars
VWE Automotive also charted the number of used passenger cars sold in 2017. A total of 1,812,110 used cars were sold in the Netherlands, which is 0.1% more than in 2016. By far the most used cars were sold by car companies; 1,129,375 used passenger cars were sold by car companies last year. This is 0.1% more than in 2016. The number of private sales of used passenger cars increased by 0.2% to 682,735 units.
Volkswagen is the brand from which the most used passenger cars were sold, although the number of used Volkswagens sold was 0.8% lower than in 2016. A total of 123,156 were sold. Peugeot is in second position with 102,074 used cars sold, which is 3.9% less than in 2016. Opel closes the top 3 with 99,490 used cars sold, which is 1.6% less than a year earlier.
Sales of Mini (+18.0%), Jaguar (+11.5%) and BMW (+8.2%) increased the most. The number of used passenger cars sold by Mercedes (+8.0%) and Kia (+7.9%) also increased sharply. Used vehicles from southern European brands such as Fiat, Seat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia were especially in lower demand. The best-selling models were the Volkswagen Golf and Volkswagen Polo, with 39,068 (-2.4%) and 36,103 (-3.1%) units respectively. The Opel Corsa closes the top 3 with 31,871 used cars sold, which is 1.2% less than in 2016.
Source: VWE Automotive
Export
As with company cars, exports of used passenger cars increased in 2017. The number of exported models grew by 0.8% to 236,584 units. Exports of both young and older cars increased. Poland remains the main export destination with 22.2%, despite the fact that the share of used cars exported to this country decreased compared to 2016. Romania ranks second; 11.4% of all used passenger cars were exported to this Eastern European country. Belgium (9.4%), Germany (6.4%) and Lithuania (5.3%) round off the top five.
Interestingly, exports of VAG brands fell sharply. For instance, the number of exported Volkwagens fell by 8.2%, while the figures for Audi are even 11.5% lower. The biggest grower was Renault, while more Mitsubishi's, Hyundai's, Fiat's and Mazda's were also exported.
Imports
Imports of used passenger cars increased by 17.5%. A total of 197,726 used passenger cars were imported in 2017, which is a record number. As in 2016, 80% of all imported used cars came from Germany (61.3%) and Belgium (18.7%). France accounted for 4.1% of imported passenger cars, while Spain (3.5%) and Italy (2.2%) ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
The Volkswagen Golf was the most frequently imported car in 2017. A total of 10,189 used units of this model entered our country, down 15.6% from a year earlier. The Volkswagen Polo is in second position with 9,150 units, showing a 22.2% increase compared to 2016. The number of imported Opel Corsa rose 4.8% to 4,047 units, while the number of imported BMW 3-series grew 14.5% to 3,925. The Toyota Yaris is in fifth position. A total of 3,637 units of this model were imported in 2017, which is 3.9% less than in 2016.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: VWE Automotive
Source photo: Pixabay / reverent
