The used car market in 2023 grew by 17%, to 5.7 million units

The used car market in 2023 amounted to 5.7 million units, exceeding the volumes not only of the peak of the crisis, but also of 2020. The market leader, as in 2020–2021, was the Ford Focus, overtaking last year’s most popular model, the Lada Samara. As both bestsellers show, the main share in the segment is occupied by very old cars. Demand for used cars decreased in December, and the decline in sales continued even during the pre-New Year rush period. Analysts note that used cars will lose popularity compared to the benefits of new cars.

The market for used passenger cars in 2023 grew by 17%, to 5.69 million units, Autostat calculated. This is only 4.4% less than in the pre-crisis 2021 (5.95 million), but 3.5% higher than the result of 2020 (5.5 million). By comparison, the market for new cars with significantly lower volumes grew by 69%, to 1.06 million units.

Lada remained the leader of the secondary market in 2023, but the growth dynamics of sales of used cars of the brand turned out to be the lowest in the top 10 of the market (by 7.7%, to 1.3 million units).

Among foreign cars, Toyota is the leader in resale (an increase of 23.7%, to 670.4 thousand units), followed by the most popular in the primary market before the current crisis, Kia (by 23.7%, to 319 thousand) and Hyundai ( by 22.8%, to 315.1 thousand).

In the model rating, as in the pre-crisis years 2020–2021, Ford Focus is in the lead. Resales of the model in 2023 increased by 15%, to 119.8 thousand units. Let us remember that Ford left the Russian market in the spring of 2019, but by that time the model had not been among the top new sales for several years (the last time was at the end of 2014). In second place is the Lada 2114 Samara (an increase of 2.9%, to 116.6 thousand), which was the leader in the secondary market in 2022. Also in the top 5 models are the best-selling Korean brands Kia Rio (110.5 thousand units) and Hyundai Solaris (110 thousand units), resales of which increased by 9.8% and 6.6%, respectively. The top 5 is completed by Toyota Corolla (growth by 21.6%, to 102.4 thousand units). Demand for Rio and Solaris, as well as other sedans, was fueled by a shortage in this segment on the new car market, as well as a regular increase in prices for them, says Maxim Solodovnik, director of used cars at Fresh.

Overall, the segment of used cars under seven years old accounts for only about 21% of all resales.

In December 2023, the used car market decreased both compared to the previous month and by 2022, amounting to 419.7 thousand cars. This was facilitated, among other things, by the general cooling of demand for cars after the Central Bank increased the rate. Used cars have also been actively sold on credit in recent years, so rising financing costs have affected sales. It should be noted that sales of new cars in December last year, however, increased – their sales were accelerated by pre-New Year discount programs and the expectation of a price increase from January 1. The latter never happened, but analysts note that customers have become accustomed to the price update policy that existed before the crisis.

Now, as in December, potential buyers can choose a new car instead of a used one due to the availability of subsidized loans (state support for demand), promotions, discounts and other things, says Sergei Udalov from Autostat. The used car market doesn’t have the same incentives. Activation of demand in the secondary market, according to the analyst, will occur by spring, and by the end of the year there will be growth in the segment. In general, Mr. Udalov believes, owners continue to “hold on” to their existing cars.

Vladimir Zhelobov, director of sales of used cars at Avtodom and Autospetscenter, says that in December and January the demand for used cars was lower than expected: “Consistently low, worse than the same period last year.” At the same time, he believes that there is no incentive to stimulate sales of new cars, and the decline in demand in the car market is due to deteriorating conditions for sales on credit: “Our share of credit sales for new cars has decreased from 70% to 50%, and for used cars – up to 15%”. Avilon Marketing Director Andrei Kamensky, however, calls the demand completely stable: “We have not recorded any decrease in buyer interest in this segment.” In the coming months, he expects the same dynamics in demand for used cars to continue.

Olga Nikitina