The Carnext site announced on Thursday that it stopped selling cars to individuals in France, in a difficult context for the second-hand market.
"As you know, the last few months have been difficult for both players in the used car market and for individuals
," CarNext said on its site.
“We had to make a difficult decision and unfortunately have to announce that our points of sale are closed”
.
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The Dutch site, which did not wish to comment, had opened three large points of sale in Rennes, Lyon and Maurepas, in the Paris suburbs, and delivered its vehicles throughout France.
Carnext had already halted sales in recent months in the Netherlands, Italy, Norway and Germany.
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However, the site continues to sell to automotive professionals, and continues to sell to individuals in Spain and Portugal.
Several sites had been launched in recent years to professionalize the online used car market, still dominated by sales between individuals.
Slowing new home market
But the improvement was short-lived: competitors have suffered during the pandemic and are struggling to obtain recent vehicles, the new market being still slowed by shortages of electronic parts.
In the United States, the pioneer of the Carvana sector faces serious difficulties, with the rise in interest rates and the economic slowdown: the demand has settled down and the prices of used cars have started to fall.
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The Cazoo site announced for its part, in September, that it was stopping its operations in the EU to focus on the British market.
Carnext, which notably sponsors Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen, broke away from its Dutch parent company, the rental company LeasePlan, in early 2021 and raised 400 million euros to extend its offer in Europe.
It was then bought at the end of 2021 by the British group Constellation, owner of the competing platform Cinch, which intended to form a European leader in the sector, facing the German Auto1, Cazoo but also the French Aramis Auto.
According to a study published by the firm Xerfi in September, the French second-hand market should remain disrupted until 2024. But these specialized sites still have
"very significant growth potential, backed by their reputation and a business model perfectly adapted to the transformations of the used vehicle market
", added Xerfi.
