The used-car economy in numbers: what the 2025 data says for 2026
5.4 million used-car sales, falling prices, more hybrids and electric cars, and a mobility startup scene that is consolidating: the figures that matter, in four charts.
Every quarter we gather the public figures that shape the used-car economy. This first edition looks at 2025 and what it says about 2026: the size of the market, what buyers choose, what they pay, and where innovation is being funded.
A market at its highs, driven by trust
France recorded 5,396,432 used-car transactions in 2025, up 0.8% and close to its historic highs. With new cars seen as too expensive and the traditional used car seen as less safe, buyers are looking for a middle way: 77% of French people consider a refurbished used car more reliable than a traditional one. Trust, in other words, is what is being sold.
Hybrids and electric cars keep gaining ground
Petrol still makes up about half of sales at Aramisauto, an online used-car retailer, but over 2025 hybrids gained 5 points, electric cars 2 points and plug-in hybrids 1 point, while petrol and diesel each lost 4 points. Across the whole market, electric cars passed 3% of used-car sales.
| % | |
|---|---|
| Petrol | 49 |
| Hybrid | 17 |
| Diesel | 17 |
| Electric | 8 |
| Plug-in hybrid | 7 |
Prices are coming down
Average purchase prices fell for every fuel type between 2024 and 2025, in line with the general fall in market prices: around €1,000 less for a petrol car, €1,400 less for a hybrid and €700 less for an electric or diesel car. Each euro off the price makes the condition and the price evidence matter more.
| 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | €16,900 | €15,900 |
| Diesel | €20,100 | €19,400 |
| Electric | €19,600 | €18,900 |
| Hybrid | €25,400 | €24,000 |
Mobility startups are consolidating
After the 2022 peak above €1 billion, funding for French mobility and automotive-services startups fell to €407 million in 2025 across 42 deals. Investors are more selective and favour profitability over hypergrowth, but the level remains above pre-Covid.
| Year | Raised (M€) | deals |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 261 | 53 |
| 2020 | 148 | 46 |
| 2021 | 516 | 51 |
| 2022 | 1066 | 64 |
| 2023 | 748 | 77 |
| 2024 | 786 | 57 |
| 2025 | 407 | 42 |
Founders stay confident, and AI is everywhere
Despite the slowdown, more than eight in ten mobility founders are optimistic for 2026 and plan to hire, and 81% have built AI into the core of their operating model.
| % | |
|---|---|
| Plan to hire in 2026 | 84 |
| Optimistic for 2026 | 82 |
| AI at the core of their model | 81 |
| Expanding in Europe in 2026 | 61 |
Three takeaways for used-car professionals
- Demand is holding up: the market is at its highs, so the battle is about margin and speed, not volume.
- Trust sells: buyers pay for reliability, so documented condition is a commercial asset, not an administrative cost.
- The mix is shifting: more hybrids and electric cars mean new checks (battery health, electrical systems) that inspection has to cover consistently.
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- AAA Data, January 2026, via Aramisauto press release “Voitures d'occasion : 3 tendances majeures de consommation en 2025”, 15 January 2026
- Aramisauto sales data and Aramisauto × OpinionWay 2025 barometer, same press release
- Observatoire des startups françaises de la mobilité, 2026 edition (April 2026), Moove Lab (Mobilians × Via ID) and Roland Berger; data from Dealroom.co, Via ID, Roland Berger.
