Discover the best-selling used cars in Spain

The used car market in Spain continues to rise: it is expected to close 2024 with an increase of around 9% compared with the previous year, surpassing 2.1 million units. This means that for every new vehicle sold, 2.1 used cars are sold, an option that more and more buyers are turning to because of the rising prices of new cars over the last few years.

The used market has not been immune to the price increases seen over the last decade, but a slight drop in the average price has been noticeable in recent months. Notable data: while sales of new diesel vehicles continue to plummet, the used market remains a “dieselised” market: around 53% of sales recorded so far in 2024 correspond to diesel models, compared with 37% for petrol models. Electrified vehicles, which are also starting to enter the used market, are gaining market share, especially hybrids, while barely one in every 100 used cars sold is fully electric.

There is growing demand for plug-in hybrids, which are also starting to reach the used market and are in high demand among users looking for a more affordable way to access a vehicle with a DGT zero-emissions label.

If you are interested in buying a used car, you should also know that one in four used cars sold in 2024 is less than five years old, a segment that has grown by 10% compared with 2023, thanks to a rise of more than 23% in used sales from car rental companies.

This, together with vehicles entering the used market from expired renting contracts, which have also grown by almost 20%, allows for a supply of relatively young used cars, highly valued and in demand, due to their favourable value for money. However, more than 40% of the used car market in Spain is still concentrated in models over 15 years old, whose sales this year have risen by almost 12% compared with 2023. This reflects the difficulty of accessing modern, safer models that offer zero-emission and low-emission mobility solutions.

The Top 5 best-selling used cars in the Spanish market

But which used cars are the favourites of Spanish buyers? As we can see in this Top 5, the ranking is led by compact models, a body type that makes it possible to have a car that can perfectly serve as the only vehicle for an average family. The range of this type of vehicle is also very wide, as for years they were the protagonists of the new car market, until the “SUV fever” arrived.

In fact, it is striking that no SUV appears in this ranking, a body type that is becoming increasingly fashionable and that does repeatedly appear in the top positions among the best-selling new cars.

The list of the best-selling used cars in Spain in 2024 is as follows:

1. Volkswagen Golf
2. Renault Mégane
3. Seat Ibiza
4. Seat León
5. Ford Focus

The undisputed king is the Volkswagen Golf, which, with this result, has been Spain’s best-selling used car for five consecutive years, and also leads the ranking of most searched models. The Seat Ibiza, a city car, is the only one to sneak into this top 5 led by compact models, and it is also worth noting that the Spanish brand has two models in the ranking, with the Seat León in fourth position. The ranking closes with the Ford Focus, but if the list were extended we would still see mainly compacts and the occasional city car.

Another relevant fact to consider is the age of the best-selling used cars, all of them over 10 years old, and in the case of the Golf, well over: the average age of used Golfs sold in 2024 is more than 15 years. Conversely, if we look among the newest used cars, less than one year old, the undisputed leader would be the Seat Ibiza.