ACI: the used car market slowed slightly in August, the increase in radiation does not stop the growth of the car fleet
04.09.2024
Slight setback in August for the Italian second-hand vehicle market. Changes in ownership of four-wheelers net of mini-transfers (temporary transfers in the name of the dealer awaiting resale to the end customer) recorded a decrease of 1.3% compared to August 2023, which however returns to positive territory (+3 .4%) in terms of daily average, due to the presence of one less working day. For every 100 new cars in the month of August, 227 used ones were sold (188 in the first eight months of the year), i.e. more than double compared to the first registrations, documenting the crisis that the car market is going through in Italy and the continuing propensity of consumers to purchase second-hand cars.
As far as engines are concerned, on the used market it is always traditional fuel systems (diesel and petrol) that occupy the top of the ranking. However, the constant growth of petrol hybrid cars continues, which achieved a monthly increase of 56.3%, reaching a market share of 7.1%. On the contrary, the market for second-hand electric cars is still struggling to take off, which despite a percentage increase of 72.8% only reaches a share of 0.8%. In the mini-car segment, the primacy of diesel is once again confirmed (49.1% share in August, compared to 52.6% in the same month of 2023), while the incidence of petrol hybrids rises to 9.4% , again surpassing LPG fueling, which fell to 7.1%. Finally, diesel hybrids (+65.8%) and electric (+88.7%) are on the rise, with market shares of 2% and 1.4% respectively.
The balance sheet was also in the red for the transfers of ownership of motorcycles which, again net of mini-transfers, closed the month of August with a negative variation of 4.4% compared to the same month of 2023 (+0.1% the daily average ).
In the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023, net ownership transfers recorded increases of 8.8% for cars, 4.2% for motorcycles and 7.7% for all vehicles.
The data is reported in the latest monthly bulletin “Auto-Trend”, the statistical analysis carried out by the Automobile Club of Italy on PRA data, which can be consulted on the website www.aci.it.
The growth of the Italian fleet is still unchecked, despite the strong growth in radiation also recorded in the month of August. Thanks to the effect of eco-bonuses, car radiation has recorded a significant increase of 29.6% compared to August 2023 (+35.8% the daily average), but the unit replacement rate is not yet sufficient to trigger a virtuous process of renewing our car fleet (the replacement rate in August was 0.98, i.e. for every 100 new cars 98 were removed, bringing the balance for the first eight months of the year to 0.75). More modest growth for motorcycle radiation, which recorded a monthly increase of 3.5% in August (+8.4% the daily average).
From January to August 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, radiation recorded increases of 26.1% for cars, 7.3% for motorcycles and 24.1% for all vehicles.
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