Eight in 10 Europeans no longer consider cars a necessity but a "luxury," as the costs of buying and maintaining a vehicle have surged, a survey found. The perception that owning a car places a heavy burden on household finances was especially strong in France.
According to France's BFM TV, polling firm OpinionWay surveyed 7,036 adults across seven European countries — France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria and Spain — and found that 80% of respondents regard cars as a luxury.
Respondents cited not only vehicle purchase costs but also maintenance and repair expenses and rising fuel prices as the main reasons. In France, the figure rose to 86%, well above the European average.
The sense of burden over car-related costs was also pronounced in France. Some 98% of French respondents said the cost of owning and maintaining a car is excessively high, and 57% of them ranked car-related spending as the top burden on household finances.
Differences also emerged in actual car-buying capacity. The average monthly budget that French respondents said they could spend on a new or used car was 283 euros (about 500,000 won). This is significantly lower than in Austria (443 euros, about 770,000 won), Germany (387 euros, about 670,000 won) and Spain (335 euros, about 580,000 won).
BFM TV analyzed that France being the second most heavily taxed car market in Europe, after Belgium, had an impact.
As the burden of new-car prices grows, the market for quality-verified "refurbished used cars" has recently drawn attention as an alternative. A refurbished used car refers to a vehicle that specialized companies purchase and then sell after detailed inspection and repair covering up to 200 items. It is characterized by being cheaper than an ordinary used car while securing quality and reliability close to that of a new car.
In fact, 73% of French respondents said they were aware of the refurbished used car market. This is up 10 percentage points from the 2022 survey.
In addition, 77% of French respondents argued that financial support such as government subsidies or tax benefits is also needed for buyers of refurbished used cars.
