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Uzone.id – Sales of electric cars have been increasing for a long time, but this is completely different from the used electric car market. In reality, the used electric car market is considered to be a nightmare for entrepreneurs.
Based on a Euractiv report, the majority of used car buyers do not want a used electric car. They still choose cars with more conventional internal combustion engines.
Germany is currently the largest car market in the European Union, but used electric cars only accounted for 1.58% of total new ownership in November 2023. Even though this figure has increased from 2022, the increase is very slight, namely only 1.23 percent based on ZDK analysis.
“When looking at these numbers, the question arises as to whether it is possible to talk about a true used electric car market today,” said ZDK’s Marcus Weller.
Car sellers also stated that several factors were driving consumers’ reluctance to buy used electric cars, such as higher prices than used cars with internal combustion engines, a perceived lack of charging infrastructure, and concerns about mileage.
Coupled with the progress made by new electric cars, it does raise concerns regarding mileage and loss of battery performance. However, this backfired on old electric cars on the used market because they still had technology that was considered immature.
“The battery sector has made significant progress in recent years in terms of energy density and therefore longer range. However, these vehicles will not be available on the used electric car market in the next two to three years. And even after that, the question arises whether they will there are even better ones on the market,” explained Weller.
It turns out that consumer perceptions regarding better battery technology are causing consumers to wait before taking the risk of switching to electric cars. These fears make internal combustion engines and diesel vehicles seem like safer options for used car consumers in the short term at the moment.
“The situation across Europe is almost the same. To put it very clearly, it is almost impossible to sell used electric vehicles. You have the problem coming from the manufacturer side that electric cars are often in the premium segment. Small cars in particular, if there are any, are very expensive. “expensive, much more expensive than conventional cars,” said Friedrich Trosse Secretary General of AECDR, the Trade Association representing European car dealers.
The formation of a used electric car market is considered very important to make more affordable zero-emission vehicles. On the other hand, it can also reduce the carbon footprint in the transportation sector, which is targeted by the European Union for at least 30 million zero-emission cars by 2030.
However, the lack of interest in used electric cars risks hampering the European Union’s road transport emissions reduction targets.
However, the development of the used electric car market also faces several new challenges such as availability problems. Currently, there are still very few used electric cars available on the market, logically because the number of new electric cars is still relatively small.
Plus, the resale value of used electric cars is still uncertain. Because the technology is still new, potential buyers are reluctant to buy used electric cars for fear that their decline will decrease quickly.
Previously, the used electric car market in Europe was believed to be capable of experiencing rapid growth. This is believed to be due to the increasing interest in electric cars, considering that European consumers have several reasons such as environmental concerns, government incentives, and low operating costs.
Moreover, currently, the price of new electric cars is still very high on the market compared to petrol or diesel cars. So used electric cars become a more attractive choice for consumers who want to save money.
