Used cars are exported when the weak krona makes Swedish cars attractive abroad.
But the trend risks eroding the Swedish second-hand market.
– We will have to pay more for cars that are older and with more miles, because the good ones have been exported, says Marcin Stepman, vehicle manager at Blocket.
Offers from export companies can be tempting, but at Lindströms Bil in Skövde, they would rather not see their used cars disappear out of the country.
– It can be tempting in the first instance to just get a car sold, but we see a bigger picture in it. We value the relationship with the customer and would like to meet the customer again. Both in a new car shop and on the service side, says Jimmy Forsberg, sales manager used cars, Lindströms Bil.
Record exports in 2023
Last year, the highest number of used cars ever was exported – around 150,000 cars left the country. This year, it looks like there will be even more. Already at the end of August, more than 105,000 cars have been exported. If you compare the period January to August from previous years, the amount of cars exported has almost increased tenfold since 2014.
Marcin Stepman is in charge of vehicles at Blocket. On the sales side, you can see that the price of relatively new used cars has risen during the year, an unusual price development for used cars.
Marcin Stepman says that it is the Swedish krone exchange rate that makes the cars attractive.
– As soon as the krona becomes weaker, that month or the following month, exports increase very much. So there is a direct correlation between the Swedish krona and the exports that take place, he says.
More expensive and worse cars
As more and more cars disappear out of the country, the Swedish market is also affected.
– We get more expensive cars that are older because those that are younger and have fewer miles are exported to other markets. So we will have to pay more for cars that are older and with more miles because the good ones have been exported, says Marcin Stepman.
Some car dealers have now gone so far as to refuse to sell cars if they suspect that the buyer is a company that will export the cars.
– They then try to be creative on their part. They pretend to be any private person and act as a go-between, only to pass the car on to an export company two days later, which takes the car further out of the country, says Jimmy Forsberg.