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Warm weather in April brings used car market recovery, but prices fall slightly
The average used car sold in April cost nearly 3% less month-over-month
Prague 3 May 2018 – The used car market registered a slight fall in sales prices as the main sales season got under way. A total of 108,786 vehicles were offered in April to customers across all regions of the Czech Republic. This figure came from statistics compiled by AAA AUTO, which constantly monitors the used car market throughout Central Europe. The price of vehicles offered in the Czech Republic averaged CZK 135,000, which meant savings of CZK 4,000 for customers, compared to March. However, the cars on offer were also slightly older, with an age of 9.7 years, and the typical odometer reading of the vehicles advertised was 160,000 kilometres, which is also a little higher on the month .
The used car market recovered almost immediately after the rapid onset of warm weather in the Czech Republic. In February the Czech used car market had only 98,508 vehicles on offer, but two months later it had a steady offering of 10,000 more vehicles. “The classic seasonality of the used car market was evident, as the sun makes customers replace their vehicle and the market comes alive. People who delay selling or purchasing a vehicle during winter go ahead with their transactions in March or April at the latest,“ says Karolína Topolová, Managing Director of the AAA AUTO dealership network. “The slight fall in the prices of the vehicles offered is the result of the higher number of vehicles being offered overall, and the customer always benefits from this,“ Topolová added. The number of vehicles being offered rose in almost all regions, except for South Bohemia and Prague. The slightly higher age and mileage contributed to the overall favourable situation on the secondary car market across the Republic.
The Škoda marque holds four places in the TOP 10 most frequently advertised used cars, and the Rapid model surprisingly made the top ten in April. “The average age of Rapid models offered in April was just 1.6 years, and these were very new used cars with a mileage of just over 20,000 kilometres. This confirms the fact that Škoda is the unchallenged leader in the Czech Republic and customers that would normally buy a new car are buying these cars on the secondary market,“ Karolína Topolová concluded.
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The TOP 10 most frequently advertised used cars in April 2018 |
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No.
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Model
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Quantity
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No.
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Marque/model
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Quantity.
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1.
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Škoda Octavia
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11 384
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6.
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Ford Focus
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2 528
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2.
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Škoda Fabia |
7 824
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7.
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BMW 3
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2 394
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3.
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Volkswagen Passat
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3 375
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8.
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Ford Mondeo
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1 803
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4.
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Volkswagen Golf |
3 202
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9.
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BMW 5
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1 441
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5.
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Škoda Superb
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2 754
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10.
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Škoda Rapid
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1 346
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The AAA AUTO used car dealership network has been active on the market for 26 years. It includes over 40 branches in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. It is a member of the AURES Holdings Group, which is owned by the British-Polish Abris Capital Partners Fund as the majority stakeholder. The company has served over 2 million customers since it was first established. In 2017, it sold 75,400 vehicles and is therefore one of the biggest used car dealers in Central and East Europe in terms of the number of vehicles sold. It also offers nearly new cars under the revived Mototechna brand. The company regularly features in the CZECH TOP 100 and the Czech 100 best charts. It also won the prestigious Superbrands award in 2017 and 2018 and came 2nd in the Europe-wide Business Awards 2016/2017 competition. The AAA AUTO and Mototechna brands are the official partners to the premier grouping in Czech football– the HET league.
