The recent rise in gasoline prices has shaken the car market and dealers are struggling to keep up with growing demand for electric and hybrid cars.
Demand is so high that shortages and congestion mean that many customers have to wait for their new vehicles.
Finland is dependent on imports of electric cars from other parts of Europe, mainly from Germany and Sweden.
Due to the shortage, Finnish customers often buy an electric car without seeing it.
"As many as half of the used electric cars imported from Germany have been sold in advance, even though the car is not yet in Finland," said Pietro JรครคskelรคinenRinta-Joupin Car Dealer, car dealership, purchasing manager.
This spring, there has been a congestion of new electric cars, which will take time to arrive on Finnish roads, as registration queues will remain blocked.
The owner of a future electric car must be prepared to wait at least six months due to the slow delivery times and slow registration processes of the new car.
A used electric car costs more than a new one
These delays make used cars look like an attractive option.
In the Finnish market, a used electric car that is currently about a month and a half old and has driven up to 10,000 kilometers costs more than a new model because it does not meet the same registration requirements and can be driven almost immediately. .
"This has happened in individual cases before, but now all little-used electric cars have good resale prices. Ideally, you will get a used car six months earlier than a new one. And even then, registering a new car can take much longer than six months," said Tero KallioManaging Director of the Automotive Industry Association.
From the beginning of April, the car tax has been abolished for new electric cars up to six months old that have been put into service after October 1, 2021. The car tax exemption also applies to imported electric cars, making these little-used electric cars a hot commodity.
The Finnish electric car fleet almost tripled in a year
According to the Automotive Information Center, 1,560 used all-electric cars and more than 3,000 rechargeable hybrids were imported to Finland in January-March this year. Last year, 3,400 used electric cars were imported to Finland and about 10,000 were registered for the first time. Finland’s all-electric car fleet has almost tripled in a year.
Kallio estimates that the shortage of used electric cars will start to ease towards the end of the year. Leasing cars that have been in use in Sweden and Germany for a year at that time will enter the ownership market and can be imported to Finland without car tax.
"There is Jahreswagen the tradition in Germany, where, for example, car factory workers receive a new leasing car every year and it is on the market in the autumn," Kallio explained.
These years-old imports are being fueled by the fact that imports of little-used electric cars have fallen.
Delivery times for new cars will be shortened next year at the latest as the automotive industry begins to get the components and raw materials it needs and global supply chains return to normal.
"Electrification has begun around the world so fast that it will take years for electric car production to meet this huge demand." Kallio said.
Source: The Nordic Page