European used car import overview 2024: which countries export the most cars, and why are imported vehicles riskier?

Cars rarely spend their entire lifespan in one country. In fact, they’re very nomadic in nature and often change a few countries before ending up in a scrapyard. The high demand for well-maintained used cars across Europe drives imports in the entire continent.

While imports provide buyers with a better selection of vehicles, this also creates the opportunity for scammers to earn an additional buck. They buy a car in one country, manipulate its mileage, and then sell it for more than it’s worth in another country.

But how widespread is this problem, and which countries are the biggest sources of car import?

Key facts of the research

• Germany is the biggest used car exporter in Europe, responsible for 26.6% of all imported cars.
• In 12 out of 16 researched countries, Germany is the top source of imports.
• Highest share of imports from one country – 41.6% (Germany to Czechia).
• 32.7% of cars imported from Finland to Latvia were clocked.
• Overall, the highest share of clocked cars were imported from Lithuania – 15.2%.
• 65.3% – the combined share of imports from Europe's top 5 biggest used car supplier countries (Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, USA).

Why are imported cars riskier to buy?

You found a nice imported car on classifieds. It looks in top-notch condition, so you buy it. Soon, various issues start to appear, and the final straw is the broken timing chain belt, which, according to the car’s mileage, should have lasted far longer.

What happened? Well, perhaps the mileage was fake.

The sad fact is that countries often don’t exchange vehicle data. Whatever happens to the car in one country is easily forgotten in another. Scammers know perfectly well that proving the fact of manipulated odometer or hidden defects is hard, so they feel unpunishable. This is the main reason why cars imported from other countries are riskier.

The main issue is that a huge proportion of cars across Europe are imported – here’s a snapshot of the details.

Germany feeds the rest of Europe with used vehicles

Since our users check the histories of thousands of cars daily, we decided to investigate where those cars are coming from. Of all vehicles checked on carVertical, 26.6% were imported from Germany, 13.5% – from France, 9.4% – from Belgium, 8.6% – from Italy, and 7.2% – from the US.

“European buyers have a strong preference for German brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volkswagen. People think cars from Germany are better equipped, properly maintained, and serviced. Sometimes, this creates an illusion of Germany-sourced cars being generally better than similar vehicles in other countries. Since many cars in Germany are returned to dealerships at the end of their lease terms, this creates a large supply of well-maintained, relatively new vehicles,” explains Matas Buzelis, an automotive expert at carVertical.

Buyers also favor French and Belgian cars, as these markets offer a steady flow of second-hand vehicles that are often in good technical condition. Additionally, imports from Italy are appealing because these cars tend to have less rust damage due to milder climate conditions.

A significant portion of imports from the US consists of damaged vehicles from insurance auctions, which are often repaired and resold at attractive prices. While this makes them affordable alternatives, buyers should be aware of potential past damage and hidden defects.

Neighbor-to-neighbor: some cars only travel across the border

When diving into import statistics in different countries, Germany is a clear leader in most countries. Czechia is the most dependent on the German car supply, as 41.6% of all vehicles imported to this country were from Germany. Other countries where German cars make up a significant part of all imports include France (32.2%), Hungary (32.3%), Italy (33.1%), and Poland (35%).

In 12 out of 16 researched countries Germany is the top importer. In Ukraine, the highest import share comes from the US (18.8%), Portugal – from France (40.3%), and Serbia – from Italy (20.7%). Surprisingly, most cars imported to Germany are from Romania – 11.7% of all imports.

While cars from Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, and the US are desired in most markets, used vehicles are often exported to neighboring countries. For example, 18.2% of cars imported to Latvia come from Lithuania, 8.1% of vehicles in Czechia are imported from Slovakia, and 28.2% of cars in Finland are imported from Sweden.

1 out of 8 cars imported from the US have a manipulated odometer

If you visit any classifieds website in your country, you’ll quickly notice that many cars have just arrived from abroad and are not even registered. While some deals may seem tempting, many cars are sold with clocked mileage.

Among the top exporters in the research, American vehicles had the highest chances of having a manipulated odometer – 11.8% of all imported cars to Europe were clocked. Considering that thousands of vehicles arrive every day from the US, these are staggering numbers.

“It’s worth highlighting that American cars can be cleverly manipulated when it comes to mileage fraud. For example, 100,000 miles might be presented as 100,000 kilometers, even though in reality that should be around 160,000 kilometers,” emphasizes Buzelis.

Poland may not be the biggest exporter in the continent (3.5%), but 11.2% of vehicles imported from this country were clocked, followed by Italy (8.2%).

While it’s hard to tell when the clocking actually happens, whether in the car’s country of origin or after it crosses the border, this is a big problem in the used car industry. And in some countries, the situation is even worse.

In Czechia, 18.9% of cars imported from the US had their mileage clocked. In Hungary – 15.8%, in Romania – 13.9%, in Poland – 11.3%, in Lithuania – 12.3%. However, this doesn’t mean that only American cars are being clocked – far from it. Vehicles from any country can have manipulated mileage, so trusting the seller blindly isn’t the best strategy when searching for a car.

Are mileage rollbacks really a concern?

You may think, ok, the situation may not be the best, and some cars definitely have clocked mileage, but is it really that widespread? Unfortunately, yes. Companies like carVertical are often born of frustration that so many people get scammed while authorities occasionally fail them.

According to the European Parliament Research Service, economic losses caused by odometer manipulation may cost up to €8.77 billion. On average, a car’s value may be increased by €3 000.

So, let’s say you bought a used car for €13,000 with a clocked odometer. In this case, its actual value may be only €10,000. You lose money without even noticing it! If later on, you decide to sell this car and the buyer will check its history, you’ll get less than you expected. Not to mention that its condition will be worse due to higher mileage, and planning maintenance may be almost impossible.

Businesses are affected by odometer fraud as well

Odometer fraud affects not only ordinary car buyers but dealerships as well. Many businesses acquire vehicles and then resell them. If they fail to detect a car with manipulated mileage, they can face financial losses. What is even worse for any company – selling a car with fake odometer readings may damage their reputation.

More and more companies adopt vehicle history reports to protect themselves from clocked cars. In fact, they often contact carVertical to integrate our reports into their daily operations, and the number of our business clients has been steadily growing.

Last year, we conducted research with various dealers in France, Italy, and Poland, which gave us an insight into local used car markets. For example, three-quarters of dealerships use history reports when considering to take a vehicle for resale. This only proves that they don’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

However, when it comes to providing reports to users, the situation varies. 62% of Polish dealers do that, whereas in France and Italy, only 9% and 6% of dealerships, respectively, accompany their vehicles with a report.

Since different countries don’t always share vehicle history data, this situation benefits dishonest sellers. It’s essential for data providers and businesses to share automotive data to increase transparency in the market. In some cases, buyers don’t even realize their car was imported. This allows serious issues like previous accidents, actual mileage, or even theft records to be hidden.

How to know if a car was imported, and whether it has a clocked mileage?

So, we’ve already mentioned that a car history report is a go-to tool to check if the vehicle was imported from abroad and determine if its odometer readings are genuine. But how to read the report like a pro? Here’s a quick breakdown of what you need to know.

When you enter the car’s VIN and get the carVertical report, it includes a section called Timeline, where all administrative events are listed. This is where you can check the country of the first registration, technical inspections passed, and when it was exported abroad. In the example below, you can see that the car was first registered in Sweden in 2011 and then exported to Romania in 2016.

Additionally, you can learn about the historical odometer readings. Just head to the Odometer section to check if the car’s mileage is genuine. As we can see in the example below, the mileage was reduced from 192,559 km to 152,360 km. This is no coincidence! For many drivers, a vehicle with 200,000 km on the odometer is a psychological boundary they don’t want to cross. When the mileage is reduced to approximately 150,000 km, they may be more convinced to get this car.

Methodology: how was this study conducted?

The carVertical study analyzed vehicle history reports purchased by the company’s customers between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. Imported cars were counted by country of origin, their percentage was calculated, and they were ranked accordingly. The import countries most prone to odometer fraud were identified by selecting the ten largest import markets in each country and ranking them based on the percentage of vehicles with rolled-back odometers.