H. Yoo
Research expert covering South Korea
Used vehicles in France - Statistics & Facts
The French used car market broke national records in 2021 when over six million used passenger car transactions were recorded. However, amid global inventory shortages and price inflation, used car sales dropped in 2022, down to some 5.2 million transactions—the lowest transaction volume since 2009. While fewer transactions took place in 2022, used car prices in the country have been increasing since 1998; in December 2022, the monthly used car Consumer Price Index reached 104.68, the highest it had been since January 2019. This price increase reflects the broader price inflation issues faced by French consumers throughout 2021 and 2022, with the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices surging to 6.8 percent in July 2022, a 5.3 percent increase year-over-year. Despite these challenges, the used car retail market is also forecast to keep growing up to 12.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2027. This is partly related to the consumer perception of the market: In a November 2021 survey, 81 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that buying a used car was a good way to increase their savings while also feeling that the used car purchasing process seemed more complicated than buying a new car.
