Used car prices surge amid pandemic
Demand for new cars took a hit as the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold in 2020, but sales of new vehicles continued to fall in 2021. German consumers purchased just under three million new motor vehicles in 2021, while sales in 2019 stood at four million. Meanwhile, turnover in the used car market was substantially higher in 2020 and 2021 than in previous years, reflecting rising demand and prices for used passenger cars. By 2021, the average cost for used cars had increased by 26 percent from pre-pandemic prices in 2019.Among new passenger cars, the country's most popular car segment in 2021 was sports utility vehicles (SUVs), with about 667,000 new SUVs registered. Volkswagen, with a market share of 18.4 percent, was the top car brand in Germany in 2021, leaving its competitors far behind.