Volkswagen takes a double lead
In the first five months of this year, almost 5 percent more used cars were sold than in the same period last year. Volkswagen is by far the most popular brand on the used car market. This and more is evident from figures from the Bovag.
In May, 188,619 used cars were sold. That was 6.2 percent more than the 177,641 used cars traded in May last year. This concerns both used cars sold between consumers and used cars sold by companies to private individuals. If we add up the figures for the first five months of this year, we arrive at 902,621 used cars sold. That was 4.6 percent more than the 862,873 units that found a new owner in the same period last year.
Most popular brands used car market (Jan-May 2025)
Volkswagen is by far the most popular brand on the used car market in the Netherlands. In the first five months of this year, 114,435 used Volkswagens were traded. In second place is Peugeot with 63,031 units, roughly half the number of Volkswagens traded. In places three to five we find Opel, Toyota and Ford respectively. The number of used cars sold of those brands is much closer together.
Most popular used cars (Jan-May 2025)
Almost as many used Volkswagen Golfs as Polos have been sold, but the smallest of the bunch takes the lead and can call itself the most popular used car in the Netherlands over the period January to May. The rest of the top 5 consists of the usual suspects: the Opel Corsa, Ford Fiesta and Toyota Aygo. The Golf is the only compact mid-size car in the top 5, the rest are A or B segment cars. The Volkswagen Polo is the most common car in the Netherlands, so it is no surprise that it is also frequently traded on the used car market.
Used car sales by type of drivetrain (Jan-May 2025)
Although you can no longer get a subsidy on electric used cars, their share in total used car sales has increased. In the first five months of 2024, used EVs still accounted for a ‘market share’ of 3.9 percent. In the first five months of this year, that share was 4.1 percent. The market share of hybrids has also increased, from 11.6 percent in the first five months of 2024 to 15.1 percent in the first five months of this year.