Used car season starts and hybrid vehicles record the fastest growth

Czech used car market sees 12% more used cars offered in March than in February

Prague 4 April 2018 – The last cold month of this year saw a total of 110,400 vehicles offered to customers across all regions of the Czech Republic. The most common price was CZK 139,000. The vehicles offered were slightly older, with the age rising from 9.4 years in February to 9.5 years in March. The number of kilometres on the clock also rose slightly by 400 km to 155,400 kilometres. AAA AUTO has regularly monitored the used car market in Central Europe for several years. It makes use of the median in its statistics, because this value has a higher interpretative value and characterises the used car market more accurately.

In spite of the colder weather in March this year, data on car adverts indicates that some drivers have already started to prepare for the beginning of the motoring season. Some have decided to sell or purchase a new vehicle with the arrival of warm weather in the Czech Republic, as could be seen over Easter. While the Czech used car market saw a total of 98,508 used vehicles offered in February, the number rose to 110,400 in March. Although February had 3 days fewer than March, the fact that most Czechs spent the recent extended holiday weekend away must also be taken into account. As usual, most of the vehicles were offered in the capital city (29,809), while the Karlovy Vary Region saw the fewest vehicles offered to customers (2,560).

The number of cars offered with a hybrid engine is growing faster than numbers of petrol or diesel engines, with an increase of 38.5% in the month-on-month comparison. “In spite of the fact that the number of hybrid cars offered for sale rose steeply in March, growth on the demand side was strongest for used cars with petrol engines. Interest registered by AAA AUTO in petrol engines rose by 31.6%, whereas demand for diesel vehicles rose “only” by 21.2%. Demand for hybrids remains constant this year for the time being,“ explained Karolína Topolova, the managing director of the international AAA AUTO car dealer network, adding that “The Toyota marque dominates the offer of hybrid cars on our market, and this is also reflected in the demand seen at our dealerships.“

The Škoda Octavia remains the overall most popular car of all vehicles in the TOP 10, with 9,809 offered for sale in the Czech Republic in March. The smaller Škoda Fabia came second, with 6,803 available in February. The Volkswagen Passat came third, with 3,052 vehicles on offer. The most highly advertised SUV vehicles are the Škoda Yeti, the BMW X5 and the Volkswagen Tiguan. The Toyota Auris, Fiat 500 and Toyota Prius are the most poplar used hybrid cars.