[GTO]

As a huge fan of used cars (pre-worshipped cars) and a lover of data, I'm super happy to have collaborated with Cars24 on this report & analysis of last year's used car marketplace.

Enjoy the read & graphics. Full PDF can be downloaded from here.

[Cresterk]

Region wise insight :

North India prefers cheap cars like the Swift

South on the other hand prefers premium, feature rich cars like the Swift, Alto and city

Eastern India prefers compact cars like the Swift and Alto

Western India too likes Swift and city. But this time it is general category?

[PaddleShifter]

Congratulations Team-BHP and GTO! Takes quite an effort (time, patience) to compile a report having so many data points.

Originally Posted by Cresterk

North India prefers cheap cars like the Swift. South on the other hand prefers premium, feature rich cars like the Swift, Alto and city. Western India too likes Swift and city. But this time it is general category?

Rather than Swift, if we see the inclusion of City in Southern states' data, it does indicate a demand for more premium models.

The report gives all the insights in a thorough manner.

[Staraptor]

Wow, thanks GTO. This was very insightful.

A couple of things I found really interesting:

1. I did know India was a used car market, but I didn't know the ratio was 1.3:1- only projected to increase!

2. Social media (56%) being the biggest source of car information - wow, that's a LOT of scope of misinformation through short form videos. There'll be more of sensationalisation than actual content. I also see random (non-car related) meme pages promoting cars in very dubious ways. (Eg: a Curvv ad commenting on a woman's curves stating that the car is better).
Thankful to unbiased websites like Team-BHP to uphold their integrity. My favourite YouTube channels would probably be MotorInc and ZigWheels (non-shorts).

3. Kerala constituting only 3.3% of the used cars (population notwithstanding) - probably is a testament to how much the state loves their cars.

4. It's interesting that Tiago NRG is having good resale value, and regular Tiago doesn't form a part of the top 5 instead.

5. Glad to see EVs rise 5X. However, considering EVs have started matching prices of ICE cars especially for the top variants, I hope the govt doesn't increase taxes on EVs to 12/18%.

6. Red is the 3rd most sold colour!

7. Lastly, and probably the most surprising to me, is to see the widening of the gap between new and used cars' ASP. I've always considered the used car market, especially for Hyundai and Maruti models to be a rip off, and thought it's better to buy new cars instead of <3 year old cars.

[microscopic]

Two points I would like to see in this report are

1. Year-wise total maintenance cost (service/spares, etc.) as a % of price of the car.

Ownership wise total costs incurred in maintenance of the car (service/spares, etc) is one of the key aspects in the selection of brand, model & age.

2. What is the average odometer reading at which the cars change hands during their life (overall average & brand-wise).

[one-77]

Dear GTO, thank you for sharing this. However, could you please elaborate on the source of this data? Is it primarily based on Cars24 and other organised players? Or does it take into account the unorganised players as well?

If it’s based mostly on the organised players, I’m not sure of the accuracy, considering that they primarily operate out of tier 1 and tire 2 cities and certain states like Delhi, MH and KA, and are mostly non-existent in Tier 3 cities and rural areas.
Even in tier 1 cities, the unorganised players form a major component of used car sales.

[shrinz.vivek]

< Toyota holds a 6% share in new cars but does not appear in the top 5 used cars category,
indicating strong demand for its newer, reliable models over older ones. >

Wrong perspective I would say. Toyota does not appear in the used car market because people who buy a Toyota never sell. They may buy a new Toyota while still retaining the old Toyota.

And what does Cars24 mean by "Newer, reliable models"? The old ones are highly realiable too.

[UD17]

Thanks for sharing. The insights are wonderful.

Few points:

- Used car market is still quite unorganized. It takes lot of time/stress for sellers (as well as buyers) to conclude on satisfactory value.

- The overall cark park in India could be around (my guess) 50-60 million

- With scrap policy coming in to place at many cities, the age of the car park would improve

- Hatchbacks circulates more during the lifetime shows the aspiration/affordability are rising. My 2006 Maruti800 (now sold) has seen 5 owners till now

- Maruti True value is a great business built by MSIL and is showing the results to them

[Iconoclast]

My 2 cents:-

a) The used car market as far as the organized players is concerned is driven by the Top 6/8 cities. Beyond that, dealers/P2P transactions rule. So these insights will be driven largely by the Top cities.

b) The most important factor driving used car market is the supply of cars. Buyers will have to buy cars that are available irrespective of what they want.

c) Supply largely depends on 2 factors:- Size of the car parc, avg. age of cars in the car parc and avg. holding period. This explains why Honda is at #3 (Past sales and high avg. age of cars) and Toyota doesn't feature in the list (long holding period).

d) Used car pricing is essentially a discount on the current price (net of incentives) of a new car (same model/variant). This explains why you can sell an Innova at the virtually the same price at which you bought the car 4-5 years back; because of regular price hikes for the new car. Santosh Iyer has alluded to this in multiple interviews. So price hikes are good news for existing owners of a model.

e) Major factors that influence discount % are demand (estimated by trailing 12/18 month sales for the nameplate), age of the vehicle, km driven, fuel type, transmission (Auto/Manual), and current price of the model.

[SS-Traveller]

Interesting analysis. So first owners sell at 7 years on an average. It would be very revealing to find out the average odometer readings when first owners sell their cars, as per the Cars24 database. It seems cars on sale from first owners, as listed on these resellers' websites, never clock more than 50,000 km. In fact, whatever be the owner's serial number, rarely, if ever, do cars get listed that have more than 100,000 km on the odometer.

Or are they all being clocked?

[Anumon8448]

Very interesting to see a 5 times increase in evs in the used car market despite of the existing confusions regarding the expected hefty amount that would be required in case of a battery pack replacement in the future.

[SMIT2024]

Originally Posted by GTO

Enjoy the read & graphics. Full PDF can be downloaded from here.

Just one number which caught my eye instantly is the projected ratio of used cars to new cars which as per this report would substantially increase from 1.3:1 to 1.7:1

Am just curious what the supporting data for this projection might be, as there could possibly be many variables that would have an impact on this and some might include future legislations on use of certain types of vehicles. Hypothetically speaking, if the govt brings out an expiry date for Diesel LMVs across the country, most of the buyers of used cars would also be inclined towards petrol or hybrids with diesel used cars which are a substantial number finding less or no buyers.

[petrolhead_aar]

Thank you for this port. Quite insightful and cannot thank enough the effort and time required to find these information.

Honda's position indicates that people view their cars as highly reliable but overpriced for a first owner.

High road taxes should also be factor for the used car markets to grow. Personally feel Covid era really gave a boost to the used cars.

[ghodlur]

Thanks for a superb compilation on the used car market in India.

Couple of observations:
1. Inspite of users preferring safe cars, why is a Swift still the most sought after car in the used market? Why do so many Maruti cars appear on the list, same applies to Hyundai as well.
2. It is surprising to see that Sunroof/moonroof is the most sought after feature in a car instead of ABS or Airbags.