Mobility: Car owners have been driving more for the first time since 2018

The Germans drove more car again in 2024. On average, car holders covered 12,560 kilometers, as can be seen from a survey on behalf of the market observer Deutsche Automobil Treuhand (dat). This is the first increase since 2018. At that time, the annual mileage was still 14,920 kilometers.

In contrast, the buyers of new cars paid less on average for the first time in a long time. With 43,530 euros, it was 1,100 euros less than in 2023. Before that, the prices have increased steadily since the beginning of the annual survey for the DAT Report. In the past three years in particular, it has gone significantly.

Now the lack of vehicles was over, it says from the DAT. Numerous existing vehicles and fear of overcapacity had prevented a further increase in prices. The average expenses for used cars, on the other hand, practically did not change. At 18,600 euros, they were only 20 euros below the value of the previous year.

The average new car acquired by a private person had 176 hp last year. His buyer was 46 years old. However, private purchases only make up around a third of the new car market.

The average used car had 141 hp last year, was 6.7 years old and had 62,564 kilometers on the speedometer. The buyer was 43 years old on average. Almost all buyers are private individuals in the used area.