Used car market in 2023 – trends

In 2023, the used car market rebounded after double-digit declines recorded in 2022. The highest increases took place in the re-registration of used domestic cars and the change of owners of imported cars already registered in Poland. The first registrations of imported vehicles remained low in 2023. The entire used cars market is still in a worse condition than in 2021 – such conclusions can be drawn after analyzing data on the secondary market.

 

* Information included in the article concerns the Polish market.

AutoDNA checks: What was the used car market in Poland in 2023?

The used cars market is an important barometer of the entire economy. The car is the second most important purchase for consumers after real estate. Last year was quite successful for buyers and sellers of second-hand cars – apart from the still high inflation, there were no one-off events that seriously disrupted the functioning of the market in the previous years 2020-2022. Unfortunately, the market is still far from the level of 2021. 

 

 

In addition, their prices continued to rise. Consumers, who struggled with high costs, made a rational decision from their point of view and changed used cars more often than they bought new ones as compared to 2022. 

 

Used cars import – the situation on the market

 

 

Imported cars continue to be an important source of cars of the used vehicle market. Using the available data, we checked what their most common issues are before they are imported to Poland. We have distinguished three main groups by volume (from the smallest to the largest): vehicles imported from Canada, USA and Western Europe.  

Cars from USA and Canada are often imported with damage. In most cases, the damage occur at the front, and less often is affects one of the sides or the rear of the vehicle. The probability of coming across a car imported with a damaged front is quite high and it is even over 50% depending on the brand. Such a high percentage results from the current exchange rate of the zloty to the dollar, which makes it rather unprofitable to import accident-free cars. This applies especially to Audi, Chrysler and Ford cars.

The situation is different with import from Western Europe. Here, due to the scale of import and its profitability also in the case of accident-free cars, the percentage of cars with damage is small. Nevertheless, 1% of Volkswagen vehicles imported to Poland still had damaged fronts. This percentage increased to 1.4% for another German brand – Mercedes-Benz.

Import of cars from the EU and other countries increased in 2023, which translated into the increase of offers for sale of used cars on the secondary market.

 

We encourage you to read the data presented in the graphics below.

 

Used car market

 

Not a bad year for used car dealers

The number of transactions that were completed last year in the used car market was higher than the number recorded in 2022. At the same time, in 2023, there was an increase in demand for new cars, so both sellers of new and used vehicles could not complain.

The number of passenger cars on Polish roads is still growing, but there are signs of changes in the fleet structure on the horizon. After years of absolute dominance, combustion cars are slowly starting to give way to electric cars. This trend is going to grow in 2024, among others, due to the introduction of the Clean Transport Zone – first in Warsaw, and ultimately also in other cities. Restrictions on entry is going to first include several years old cars with diesel engines, which for this reason may be much less popular.

The consumer sentiment is also important when selling used cars – in 2023, fears of a further increase in the price of used cars did not materialize, which may have led some to accept the current price level and purchase of vehicles. In 2024, there is no field for an increase in car prices, and further stabilization can be expected.

 

Market rebound after the collapse due to the war in Ukraine

In 2023, national re-registrations of used cars to the next owner increased by 31% compared to 2022 to the level of 837,000 vehicles. It is worth noting that this is still more than 60,000 cars fewer than in 2021. Last year’s increases did not allow to completely cover the gap caused by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February and March 2022.

The second source on the market of used cars are imported cars that have already been registered in Poland – they do not constitute of “fresh” purchases imported into our country. Here, the situation is similar – the increase compared to 2022 was a solid 25% to the level of as much as 1 209,000, but it is still nearly 127,000 less than in 2021.

 

 

Imported cars on a small rise

Last year was not very successful when it comes to statistics of imported used cars that were registered for the first time in Poland. There were a total of 736,000 copies – only 5% more than in 2022. In total, nearly 2 million imported cars were registered in 2023, which means that for every 1 new passenger car from the showroom, there were on average 4 imported used cars – both “new”, freshly imported to Poland, and those already registered in the country. Imported car fleet is growing every year and is currently one of the main sources of vehicles on the market.

Every year, thousands of used cars with previously recorded damage end up in Poland. Don’t risk – check the used car you’re interested in with the VIN number and see if it had a previously recorded damage.