Nobody expected electric cars to be the thing that saved Europe’s used-car market from a slump. But the numbers don’t lie: in the second quarter of 2026, the used market avoided a sharp drop, and battery-powered models actually reversed course against the broader trend — their price indices rose in most of the countries surveyed and now sit well above January 2025 levels. The absolute record belongs to France: 107.6 points, the best result of any powertrain type.
BCA puts the turnaround down to simple math: demand for EVs is climbing, and access to fossil fuel keeps getting more complicated. Hybrids gained ground in several markets too. Petrol and diesel cars, meanwhile, mostly stood still or slid a little cheaper. That doesn’t mean every battery-powered model is getting more expensive across the board — the index tracks real auction transactions, not abstract price lists.
The wider market has been drifting downward since the start of 2025 — steadily, but with no sign of collapse. France, Portugal, Denmark and Sweden lost the least: 1 to 4.3 points. Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands took a harder hit, down 5.3–9.1 points. In the second quarter the decline spread to most countries, largely in line with normal seasonality. Mileage, meanwhile, matters more than ever.
The rule is simple: cars under 50,000 km hold their value tightly. Past 100,000–150,000 km, real pressure sets in. Buyers are paying not just for age, but for insurance against an imminent trip to the shop. In Germany, the Mercedes-Benz A-, C- and E-Class barely moved in price over six months. The Ford Focus dipped compared with the first quarter but still sits above where it stood in January 2025. The Mercedes GLC lost more ground, though by June the first signs of stabilization had appeared.
A separate story is unfolding among ex-lease vehicles, a segment that matters enormously to dealers. After falling in late 2025, their indices barely moved through both quarters of 2026. So the real story here isn’t a single collapse across Europe’s used-car market — it’s demand reshuffling between powertrain types and vehicle condition.
