The used car market in October decreased by 4% compared to September

The used car market continued to recover in October compared to 2022, but decreased by 4% compared to September. Moreover, sales for the first time since April were below 500 thousand cars per month, amounting to 489.1 thousand. This is a record low volume for 2023 – sales were lower only in January, when demand traditionally decreases due to long holidays. Now consumers are reducing their activity due to rising borrowing costs against the backdrop of an increase in the Central Bank rate.

The market for used passenger cars in October grew by 11.9%, to 489.1 thousand units, Autostat calculated. However, compared to the previous month, sales were down 4%. Sales have been declining for the second month in a row: September it fell 7.6% by August. This corresponds to the market situation in October described “Kommersant” dealers: a number of them spoke about a reduction in sales by 3% month-on-month, while others observed stable demand relative to the September level, but lower than in the summer.

The market in October even fell below the mark of half a million cars sold for the first time since May 2023. This year, there was a lower sales volume only in January, when 361.3 thousand used passenger cars were sold, while the beginning of the year is traditionally a low season for the car market.

The main share of sales in the secondary market falls on the domestic Lada.

In October, 113.7 thousand used cars of this brand were sold, which is 1.4 thousand less than in the previous month. Next come Toyota (55.8 thousand cars), Kia (26.5 thousand), Hyundai (26.1 thousand) and Nissan (25 thousand). The top 5 models included two Ladas (2114 Samara and 2107), which have not been produced for a long time, as well as the Ford Focus (made it into the top of new sales only at the end of 2014, not produced since 2019) and bestsellers of recent years before this crisis – Kia Rio and Hyundai Solaris. The secondary market consists of almost 80% of cars older than seven years, Avtostat cited data, so in the top resale there are still cars whose production has already been stopped.

According to the results of January-October, the used car market grew by 22.3%, to 4.8 million units, the analytical agency reports. For comparison, the new car market for the same period amounted to 829.5 thousand units. With higher used car sales, the segment is less volatile. However, dealers state that the situation is now also complicated by the rise in financing costs after the Central Bank raised the rate. In early November this led to further cooling demand for used cars, but the market is expected to revive by the end of the year as customers adapt to new conditions.

Olga Nikitina