CAR-PASS welcomes the publication of the European Commission’s “Study on the functioning of the market for second hand cars from a consumer perspective” in the European Union. This comprehensive EU-wide report was long overdue given that the second hand cars market has consistently scored the lowest in terms of consumer trust in the EU’s annual Consumer Markets Scoreboard. And one key reason for this lack of trust is the widespread problem of mileage fraud.
The new study looks at various deficiencies of the second hand cars market: after-sales problems, unfair commercial practices, limited information provided, etc. But mileage fraud was the second most commonly cited problem in the stakeholder survey conducted as part of the report, particularly in Eastern European countries. This is reflected also in the findings of the consumer survey, where reported cases of mileage fraud were much more prevalent in the new EU Member States or EU13 (14%) than in the old EU15 members (4%). However, the percentages could be under-reported as it might be the case that respondents might not be aware that the odometer of their car was tampered with.
On the publication of its annual report, the non-profit organisation Car-Pass provides an overview of odometer fraud in the sale of used vehicles. In 2021, 1578 cases of odometer fraud were uncovered in this way. 906 were domestic sales (0.13% of the total) and in 672 (1.2%) cases, the vehicle had been tampered with when imported into our country.
...
Data from Car-Pass non-profit show that we all drove more last year. The average car travelled 15,384 km. This is 11% more than in 2020, but still 14% less than in 2019 before Corona.
...
2020 was a very special year, but thanks to the strong recovery of the second-hand market, the loss for the non-profit organization Car-Pass remained very limited. The non-profit organization was even able to step up the fight against odometer fraud involving imported vehicles.
...
Car-Pass non profit considers information security as a top priority. After a thorough preparation, Car-Pass received the ISO 27001 certificate from Brand Compliance.
...