What was the used cars market in Poland in 2022?
In 2022, there was a double-digit decline in the used cars market in Poland in terms of the scale of re-registrations to new owners and the first registrations of passenger cars from imports – according to data by autoDNA.
The condition of the used car market is an important indicator showing the state of the economy and the situation of consumers – drivers. Last year was not optimistic for both. The automotive industry still faced the limited availability of components for the production of cars, which translated into the availability of new cars in dealerships. In turn, consumers were under enormous pressure of rising prices, which from the perspective of drivers was felt not only in the form of expensive fuels, but also increasingly expensive cars, both new and used. The uncertainty associated with the war in Ukraine also did not encourage drivers to exchange or purchase used cars.
The decline in the market was worsened by the situation in Ukraine
All these factors led to the national re-registrations of second-hand cars to fall by 29% in 2022 compared to 2021 down to 640,000 cars. The real collapse occurred in the re-registration of imported cars, in the case of which the same number amounted to 963,000 vehicles, a 39% decrease compared to 2021. The first registrations of this type of cars, i.e. most often “freshly” tested, decreased last year to the level of just over 700,000 after a decrease by 18%.
In all categories of vehicles, a distinct “drop” occurred in February and March due to the uncertainty associated with the first weeks of the war in Ukraine.
Imported cars substantially slowed down
In the case of imported cars that were first registered in Poland, the decrease is also related to the lower availability of new cars. Customers in dealerships often have to wait many months for the delivery of the vehicle in their chosen configuration. As a result, the replacement of the used cars for new ones slowed down, which is also reflected in the availability of the former in Western Europe, the main source of imported cars.
Despite this, the Polish used car market is still dominated by imported vehicles, however, the domestic vehicles are also quite popular.
In 2022, there were on average 2.6 imported cars per 1 domestic car – both “freshly” imported (1st registration) and re-registered, i.e. registered in Poland at least for the second time.
This percentage increased slightly compared to 2021, when for 1 domestic used car there were 2.4 imported vehicles.
What is the situation in the regions?
By voivodeships, 5 regions – Lower Silesia, Silesia, Greater Poland, Lesser Poland and Mazovia – account for nearly 60% of all re-registrations of used cars of domestic origin to the new owner. In the case of re-registrations of imported cars, the percentage of cars from these regions is also high and amounts to 51%. For the first registrations of imported cars, the situation is almost identical – the aforementioned 5 voivodeships cover 52% of this type of registration. Compared to the previous year, the number of first registrations in these 5 regions decreased by 21%, which is more than 75,000 cars fewer than in 2021. Other voivodeships recorded decreases at a similar level.
For buyers of used cars, the situation meant less choice of cars, which, combined with expensive fuel, uncertainty in connection with the war in Ukraine and galloping inflation, certainly did not encourage the purchase of used cars.
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