Every year, losses related to mileage fraud are valued more than 8.77 billion euros in the United States and most of Europe. These figures are taken from a study by the European Parliamentary Research Service.

Some models and brands were affected more than others. Here are the top 20 the models most affected by this scam!

German cars have been hit hardest by mileage fraud

For this survey, nearly 1.11 million historical reports from the past 12 months in 24 markets covering the United States and most of Europe were analyzed.

At the top of the ranking we findAudi A8whose 30.6% of models had falsified mileage. A very high figure, followed by many other premium German sedans. 6 out of 10 cars that make it to the trade-in are expensive German vehicles such asAudi A7, BMW X5, or even BMW 7 series.

Among the models of other manufacturers, the list of vehicles that most often enter the trade also includes Ford Mustang on 2 positions (25.7% falsification), v Volkswagen Transporter on 6 positions (24% adulteration) or Volvo XC70 in 14th place (21.1% falsification).

Investigation: Carvertical

What about hybrid and electric models?

On the second-hand market, the offer of hot cars (gasoline or diesel) is almost the majority. As such, these models mechanically represent the largest number of vehicles at the center of mileage fraud. However, the demand for electric cars is rapidly changing the landscape.

According to the study, engine type is not a good indicator of whether a vehicle is susceptible to tampering. Although most cases of fraud involve thermal models, not all of them are the same. For example, in the Volkswagen Jetta (which is not available in Europe), it is the hybrid versions that have the largest share of cars with modified mileage (27%) compared to the diesel (24.1%) or gasoline versions (22.4%).

A growing number electrified cars with falsified mileage shows that buyers should be more careful. Even if the total share of EVs with falsified mileage (14.6%) is lower than the European average (15.6%), the difference is negligible.

In addition, electric vehicles with a fake meter pose a greater risk because of the deterioration in quality batteries leads to expensive repairs. That’s why it’s even more important to know the actual mileage when looking for a used electric or hybrid car.