Can you guess which municipality completely rejected electric cars? What was the best-selling car model of the year? We have answers to those questions and many more in our big review of the used year 2025! Join us in a look back at the past year, in Niemi Bil Wrapped!
Another year is almost upon us, and it hit us how much data is flooding us every day here at Niemi Bil. At the same time, the "wrapped season" is getting underway in earnest, and we get to know what our favorite songs on Spotify were, what series we binged on Netflix, and much more!
So we didn't want to be worse!
Let's look at what sold the most, who bought the least, what it cost, which color was most popular, and all the interesting facts (and all the uninteresting facts for that matter) are here!
Source: Swedish Transport Agency, used cars purchased in Sweden from car dealers, max 10 years old.
The first decade of the 2000s is just a fond memory now, but do you remember all the amazing cars we had “back then?” Some were more amazing than others, and our perception of them has changed over the years. Here we take a look at which of them all cars at least 15 years old which was sold the most in 2025!
Place 5: SAAB 9-5
The classic, and unfortunately bankrupt Swedish car brand SAAB (which these days “only” manufactures boring things like fighter jets) starts the list. Almost 12,500 units have been sold this year. Impressive!
Place 4: Volvo V50
Swedish classic Volvo continues the list with one of its big favorites. Volvo doesn't manufacture fighter jets, but has made the occasional aircraft engine over the years (some of which are used by, that's right, SAAB).
Place 3: SAAB 9-3
Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolag takes a full two places on the list, impressive for a car that doesn't exist!
Place 2: VW Golf
If there is a top list of cars, then there will be a Golf on that list, it's been around for a long time and is still true this year! (hint: it will be true next year too)
Place 1: Volvo V70
It was a police car and an ambulance. It was your parents' car, and your friends' parents' car, and probably your car at some point too. No one is surprised who tops the list of best-selling 15+ year old cars!
When you want to sell your car, you mainly have two options: either you sell directly to other private individuals, for example at Blocket. Or you turn to a car dealer (for example Niemi Bil, I mean, why would you go to anyone else?) and sell the car that way.
But which option was the Swedes' favorite? Yes, you can see it here!
As you can see, Swedes prefer to sell everything to car dealers. Perhaps it's due to increased activity and marketing, or perhaps it's the fast, smooth and secure transactions that attract them.
To put this into perspective, we can mention that just a few years ago, in 2017, selling your car to a car dealer was significantly less popular. At that time, half of all private individuals chose to sell to other private individuals instead. Whether this is due to increased activity and marketing from dealers, that the process has become more complicated, or that it has become more convenient to sell to companies is difficult to answer, but the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.
Diesel, electric, petrol or something else fun. There are many ways to propel a car forward (more ways than you think, actually) but what sold best on the used market in 2025?
Yes, ethanol is still being sold. Strangely enough. Also included in the graph is “other” of 0.02 %, so small that it is not even visible. What it is we can only speculate about… Gengas? Flint drift?
How has it changed compared to last year?
Yes, gasoline is declining in popularity. from just over 30 % to 26,7%, but remains the most popular fuel.
Diesel has also fallen from 28 % to 23,1 %.
But Electric cars have sold just over 50% of the % this year, with the number going up from 37,607 cars to the whole 56 959 cars during this year! A share increase of over 50 % thus (from 10.3 % last year to 15,6 % this year).
Plug-in hybrids have also increased from 15,8 % share to 18,5 % and electric hybrids have also increased marginally. But Ethanol has actually increased its share the most, from having sold only 1,345 ethanol-powered cars in 2024, a whopping 2,185 have been sold this year! (Okay, that sounded more impressive before I wrote it out…)
* Bonus anecdote: The diesel municipality of 2025 was Sorsele! Where 61% of all used cars purchased were powered by diesel. Almost three times more than the average in Sweden!
Well… Most of the cars you see on the roads now are probably black. Or white. Or maybe gray if it's some really daring person who bought a car to stand out from the crowd. No, but kidding aside, cars of other colors have actually been sold too, here's the top list!
Place 1: White
Yes. So the most popular color for cars this year is… no color at all? Or how does that work again, is white no color or all colors at the same time? The whole 26,33 % of all used cars sold in 2025 were white.
Place 2: Black
Or is it that black isn't a color? Black can be quite stylish, but it's a bit sad that it's just become so common. 21,27 % of all cars sold this year were black.
Location 3: Gray
Okay, enough with the boring colors now… 19,33 % of the cars were gray. Maybe the next color will be a color anyway?
Place 4: Silver
I don't know what I expected... 6,97 %
Place 5: Blue
A color!? A real color! Finally! The sea, the sky, and 6,06 % of all used cars sold in Sweden in 2025.
Bonus! Place 6: Red
Yes, I threw in another spot on the list to add a little more color. Red cars accounted for 6 percent of all used car sales, just as much as blue cars. It's only right that they make the list!
Okay, let's throw in some more color! Do you remember the game we played on the school bus? "Yellow car!" someone shouted, and then you had a bruise on your shoulder... Violent times! Below you can see in which municipalities in Sweden the young people probably have the biggest problem with this, because the next list is about which municipality the highest proportion of yellow used cars have been sold in during 2025!
Top 10 municipalities with the highest proportion of yellow cars (of all used cars sold in 2025)
| Municipality | Percentage of yellow cars | Number of yellow cars |
|---|---|---|
| Asele* | 1,61 % | 1 pc |
| Torsås | 1,25 % | 3 pcs |
| Alvsbyn | 1,21 % | 3 |
| Malung-Seal | 1,18 % | 4 |
| Vineyards | 1,12 % | 3 |
| Gotland** | 0,98 % | 15 |
| Haparanda | 0,86 % | 2 |
| Kalix | 0,85 % | 5 |
| Swallow's Nest | 0,84 % | 5 |
| Harnosand | 0,82 % | 7 |
* Yes, we know, Åsele is small, so a single yellow car is enough for first place, it's the proportion that counts here!
** Summer vacation tip: Gotland! Teach your children the "Yellow Car Game"
Has your favorite car increased in popularity and skyrocketed like a rocket? Or has it behaved more like a time bomb? Well, we've certainly looked to the sky to see which car models have increased the most in popularity on the used market over the past year! We compare how many cars of each model were purchased in 2024.
Place 5: Kia EV9
With a bang, Kia's big EV9 entered the used market a year ago, and it's been going uphill ever since!
Increase: 384.78 %
Place 4: MG Marvel
MG's focus on increasing the premium feel resulted in the MG Marvel, which is no longer sold as a new car, but is popular as a used car!
Increase: 408.76 %
Place 3: MG5
More MG models have increased in popularity, even their more traditional station wagons have skyrocketed!
Increase: 505.07 %
Place 2: Volvo EX30
Of course, a Volvo has also found its way onto this list, this time it is their smallest, fully electric SUV that has increased the most!
Increase: 756.52 %
Place 1: Volkswagen ID.7
Here it is! This year's New Year's rocket comes from Germany, and is basically an electric Passat, so it's no wonder it's so popular!
Increase: 1,352.63 %
It should be said that many of this year's rockets are car models that were launched just a few years ago, and thus only this year have had their first, real chance to break into the used market. But how they have done it! Have you yourself contributed to the statistics and been one of those who bought one of these models used? Or are you perhaps planning to do so in 2026?
Where you live obviously has a big impact on what car you buy, but does it also play a role in how often you change cars? Here we have compiled some facts about what proportion of the population in the municipality bought a new used car during the year, and found which were Sweden's most eager municipalities to buy in 2025!
| Municipality | Percentage who bought a car | Number of cars purchased |
|---|---|---|
| Solna | 8,58 % | 7,420 pcs |
| Skurup | 5,38 % | 923 pcs |
| New mill | 5,06 % | 627 pcs |
| Forshaga | 4,82 % | 552 pcs |
| Grastorp | 4,69 % | 262 pcs |
| Panties | 4,64 % | 692 pcs |
| Ljungby | 4,52 % | 1,275 pcs |
| Vaggeryd | 4,46 % | 665 pcs |
| Bollebygd | 4,44 % | 434 pcs |
| Strängnäs | 4,44 % | 1,748 pcs |
Congratulations Solna, we say! You were the municipality most eager to change cars in the country!
As a counterpoint, we can mention Sorsele in Västerbotten, where only 2.08% of all residents bought a used car during the year. That's a solid 49 cars if you add that up.
The second least eager to buy were actually the people of Stockholm, where only 2.18% of all people living in the royal capital made the effort to buy a new car!
The electric car is an unreasonably hotly debated topic. Is it better than cars with a combustion engine, or is it worse? Or are there basically only two ways to propel a car forward, and which fuel is best depends on who will own the car? Yes, in any case, the electric car is more popular in some places and less popular in others.
What percentage of all used cars purchased were electric, and which municipality had the highest average? We'll take a look here!
| Municipality | Share of electric cars | Number of electric cars purchased |
|---|---|---|
| 28,66 % | 239 pcs | |
| Härryda | 26,12 % | 407 pcs |
| Vellinge | 25,47 % | 392 pcs |
| Clay room | 25,31 % | 444 pcs |
| Kungsbacka | 24,80 % | 909 pcs |
| Nacka | 24,49 % | 857 pcs |
| Kävlinge | 24,46 % | 319 pcs |
| Danderyd | 24,37 % | 261 pcs |
| Solna | 23,37 % | 1,734 pcs |
| Stenungsund | 23,05 % | 272 pcs |
Solna is also on this list, so is it the car municipality of the year 2025? Yes, maybe. The west coast is doing really well on the electric car front, and it remains to be determined whether the west coast is the best coast when it comes to electric cars overall. But we'll let someone else do that.
In which municipality was the proportion of electric car purchases lowest then?
Yes it was Upper calyx, where it was purchased… not a single used electric car in the whole year? It stands out. The other 289 municipalities in Sweden bought some electric cars! It is also impressive in its own way.
Now we're getting to the really interesting points! Which was actually the most popular car manufacturer? Which car brand is closest to the heart of the Swede? Here's the list: Top 5 best-selling car brands in 2025, stay tuned!
Place 5: BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke, or BMW as they are more often called (perhaps because that is their official name…) takes fifth place!
Number sold: 23,313
Place 4: Toyota
Fourth place comes from Japan, and it's none other than the world's largest car manufacturer, Toyota, that ends up here!
Number sold: 24,661
Place 3: Kia
And from Japan's neighboring country, South Korea, comes third place! A car brand that has grown significantly, and this year too!
Number sold: 32,956
Place 2: Volkswagen
Golf, Passat, ID.7 and more, is it strange that second place goes to the people's car? But it wasn't quite enough for first place.
Number sold: 43,374
Place 1: Volvo
The least surprising thing today is that Volvo is the best-selling brand in Sweden, right? But congratulations anyway, we say to the favorite!
Number sold: 69,242
So Volvo won. Imagine that. But if you want to get an even clearer message about Volvo's dominance, check out the next list. No spoilers but... It's "Volvo-dense" you could say.
We're wrapping up the used car year Wrapped 2025 with the question everyone wants to know the answer to: Which car sold best? You've probably seen a whole bunch of these models along the roads, not just this year, but now 2025 is our focus, so here they are: The car models that sold best on the used market in 2025!
Place number 10: Toyota RAV4
The world's largest car manufacturer, yes, but this is actually Toyota's only placement in this year's top 10. The RAV4 has sold quite a lot on the used market anyway, 5 299 pieces to be more precise.
Place number 9: Volkswagen Tiguan
Volkswagen thunders onto the list early. The Tiguan is a popular mid-size SUV, and we like that in Sweden. 6 227 used Tiguans got new owners in 2025! In Sweden, at least…
Place number 8: Kia CEED
There! Kia made the list too, with its popular CEED. Wasn't it spelled "C'eed" before or did I miss something? 7 636 pieces of used Kia CEED were sold in 2025 anyway, regardless of how it is spelled.
Place number 7: Kia Niro
We'll get another Kia while we're at it, right? It was sold. 8 805 pieces of Kia Niro during the past year!
Place number 6: Volkswagen Passat
Volkswagen's second entry on the list is the classic Passat. It was actually sold 9 335 pieces of this car in 2025.
Place number 5: Volkswagen Golf
More Volkswagen! Germany has a strong place in the Swedish car industry, and the whole 10 046 Golfs were sold this year.
Place number 4: Volvo V90
It probably says a lot that the first Volvo on the list comes in 4th place? The nice family car V90 was sold in 10 207 copies this year!
Place number 3: Volvo XC40
Of the small, delicious SUV from Volvo, 11 269 pieces. Good job!
Place number 2: Volvo XC60
Yes, Volvo's popular SUV is of course high on the list of 16 444 sold!
Number 1 spot: Volvo V60
Ta-daa! Volvo, Volvo, Volvo. Yes, it's Volvo-heavy at the top. The V60 was sold throughout 16 801 copies on the used market in 2025!
And that, my lord, was all! Now we have truly tied together 2025 in the best way, and 2026 could hardly get off to a better start than to round off the current year in the best way possible, right?
We wish you a happy new year, good luck in the future, and if you want to "contribute to the statistics" in the coming year, you know who to turn to!
We at Niemi Bil would like to wish you all:
Happy New Year!
