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Used car sales surge in Lithuania, linked to pension fund withdrawals
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania /Economy & Trade

Used car sales surge in Lithuania, linked to pension fund withdrawals

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Lithuania saw a 21% increase in used car registrations in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
  • This surge coincides with the government's pension reform, allowing about 700,000 residents to withdraw funds from private pension accounts.
  • Car dealers report a significant sales boost following the pension payouts, suggesting a direct link between the withdrawn funds and increased car purchases.

Lithuania's used car market experienced a notable surge in the second quarter, with registrations increasing by 21% compared to the previous year. Official statistics from "Autotyrimai," analyzing "Regitra" data, show 52,200 used cars were registered in the April-June period, up from 43,100 in the same timeframe last year. Vehicle ownership transfer operations also rose by 23%, with 68,800 transactions this year compared to 56,000 last year.

It would be difficult to call this a coincidence.

โ€” market expertcommenting on the increase in used car sales coinciding with pension fund payouts.

The timing of this market activity aligns with the government's pension reform, which began in January, allowing citizens to withdraw funds from private pension accumulation systems. Approximately 700,000 Lithuanians have opted to take their savings, with around 580,000 people leaving the system in the first quarter, resulting in about 3 billion euros being returned to individuals, averaging 6,700 euros each, according to the Lithuanian Investment and Pension Funds Association (LIPFA).

Spring has been active for our company in terms of sales for many years (...) This spring is exceptional because sales shot up in April โ€“ the withdrawn pension fund money entered the market. Sales doubled in the first days of April, and this is truly unusual even in the used car market, which has been growing steadily for the past few years.

โ€” Vilma Gavฤ—naitฤ—representative of the company managing the "BRC autocentro" brand, describing the sales surge.

Car sellers have directly linked the increased sales to these pension payouts. Vilma Gavฤ—naitฤ— from "BRC autocentro" stated that sales "shot up" shortly after the pension funds were disbursed. She noted that while spring is typically active, this year was exceptional, with sales doubling in April, a phenomenon unusual even for the steadily growing used car market. Dovilฤ— Lukaviฤiลซtฤ—, head of the popular car sales portal "autoplius.lt," also observed changes starting in April that cannot be attributed to seasonality, reporting a 50% increase in private listings after funds became available.

The amount of private listings grew by 50% in April, compared to the period before. After receiving payments, people bought newer cars, and old

โ€” Dovilฤ— Lukaviฤiลซtฤ—head of the "autoplius.lt" portal, explaining the impact of pension payouts on the car market.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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