Business Forum • 23 August, 2024 at 10:45 AM
Over the years, Romanian buyers' loyalty to German cars hasn't diminished. This was revealed by a study conducted by the car data company carVertical, which identified the most checked car models in the first half of 2024. Among the most popular are used models from the Volkswagen, Audi, and BMW brands.
In the first half of the year, Romanian drivers were most interested in the history of Volkswagen Passat cars on carVertical – 4% of all vehicles checked on the platform, followed by the Audi A4 (3.7%), BMW 5 Series (3.4%), BMW 3 Series (3.2%), and BMW X5 (3.2%).
Compared to the same period in 2023, the majority of the most popular cars haven't changed, suggesting that Romanians have clear preferences. The only newcomer in the list is the Renault Megane (3.2%), which replaced the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
"German cars like BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen have been in high demand in the Romanian used vehicle market for many years. Drivers appreciate them not only for their reliability but also consider them as a part of their image. Moreover, people considering Premium used cars can see their stronger residual values when compared to newer economy-class vehicles," says an automotive expert from carVertical Matas Buzelis.
The popularity of the Toyota Corolla grew the most in Romania
The number of history checks for the Toyota Corolla grew the most in the country (+115.6%), followed by the Kia Sportage (+94.6%), Skoda Karoq (+94.3%), Kia Ceed (+86.5%), and Volvo XC40 (+82.4%).
The growth in popularity of these models is good news for those planning to sell them. The more in-demand a car is in the secondary market, the more stable the price is in terms of depreciation.
Among all the countries participating in the study, the popularity of Mini Coupé (+719.1%), Tesla Model 3 (+534%), Tesla Model X (+297.6%), Audi RS7 (+262.2%), and Jaguar E-Pace (+186.6%) has grown the most first half of this year.
Mileage fraud is more common among popular models
Popular models often become targets for fraudsters. The market is full of cars with tampered mileage, which can later cause numerous problems for new owners. It becomes challenging to follow the manufacturer's recommendations and perform timely maintenance when it's unclear how far the vehicle has traveled.
During the first six months of 2024, 10.6% of all Volkswagen Passats checked on carVertical in Romania had altered odometer readings, so buyers should be particularly cautious and avoid finalizing a purchase without verifying the car's history. The mileage of other popular models is also frequently tampered with: the Audi A4 (8.5%), BMW 5 Series (9.6%), BMW 3 Series (7.8%), and BMW X5 (6.6%).
Situation in the used car market stabilizes
In almost all markets, used car prices continue to stabilize and gradually decrease. This price reduction is due to the recovery of the new car market, as there are no longer significant delays in car production like there were a few years ago. As more new cars are manufactured, more used models enter the secondary market.
Regarding electric vehicles, in countries where new incentives were recently introduced, the electric vehicle market has revived, but this is only a short-term trend. In the long term, the EV market is likely to face difficulties, as some manufacturers have already begun to reinvest in internal combustion engine cars.
“Those buyers who most wanted electric vehicles already have them, while others either see no need to switch to EVs because they don't have where to charge them or cannot afford them,” explains Buzelis.
According to Buzelis, the purchase of used cars has somewhat recovered, and the number of transactions in the main European markets grew steadily in the first quarter of this year.
The carVertical study analyzed car history reports purchased by the company's users from January to June 2023 and compared this period with reports purchased from January to June 2024. The number of reports purchased in each country was converted into percentages, thus creating lists of the most popular cars. By processing millions of vehicle history reports annually, the company can provide trends, forecasts, and insights into the used car market.