The car market is often a very good indicator of the economic state of a country. In 2023, the French car market reached a record a total of over 7 million car sales. It was quite a dynamic year for the industry.

Last year, 1.77 million units of new cars were sold, while at the second-hand level, despite a slight decrease of 0.3% compared to last year, there were 5.24 million transactions. The number is correct, but going into the details, we see that a new trend is emerging.

Price as the main purchase criterion

The second-hand market in 2023 was particularly affected lack of recent cars on sale. Motorists facing economic uncertainty, preferred more affordable vehicles.

Second-hand goods, despite their lower environmental impact, were not the most popular among buyers, in particular because of the still high prices. In general, this contrasts with government incentives aimed at promoting the purchase of electric cars, such as the environmental bonus or even social leasing.

The cheapest cars, therefore, the oldest, are popular

According to the Autoscout24 ad platform, Almost half of the deals in 2023 involved vehicles over 10 years old. Sales of these cars increased by 1.4%, now accounting for 47.9% of the market. The over-16 vehicle segment recorded a significant growth of 9.6% compared to 2022, reaching 1.24 million transactions.

On the other hand, the latest second-hand segment (ie less than one year old) recorded a decline with sales of 516,065, down 9% from 2022. Used 2 remained stable after 5 years with a slight decrease. only 0.3%.

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