China Automobile Dealers Association: In-depth analysis of the national used car market in September 2021

In September 2021, the national used car market transaction volume was 1.5753 million vehicles, a month-on-month increase of 5.14%, and the transaction amount was 104.028 billion yuan.

The used car industry entered its peak season in September. With the super-long holidays of Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, the demand for self-driving travel in China surged. The used car market gradually strengthened from the third week, and consumer power was released in a concentrated manner. In addition, although the epidemic recurred in some local areas in September, it did not spread to other provinces and cause large-scale spread, so it did not have a significant impact on the used car market.

In September 2021, the national second-hand car transaction volume was 1.5753 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.44%, and the year-on-year growth rate was basically the same as the same period in 2019. The impact of heavy rains in Henan Province on the car market this month has gradually subsided, and the second-hand car transaction volume has returned to normal levels.

In the third quarter of this year, the volume of used car transactions was 4.5326 million, an increase of 11.52% over the same period last year, and the year-on-year growth rate increased by 2.36 percentage points compared with 2020. In the third quarter, despite the repeated outbreaks of the epidemic and the impact of extreme weather in various regions, the used car market still maintained double-digit growth, indicating that the used car market itself has strong resilience and support. The annual transaction volume is expected to reach 16 million vehicles.

From January to September this year, the second-hand car transaction volume was 12.9668 million units, an increase of 35.34% over the same period last year. Affected by the epidemic in the same period last year, the national second-hand car transaction volume was 9.58 million units. Referring to the data in the same period of 2019, the second-hand car transaction volume increased by 22.50% compared with the same period in 2019.

In September, the transaction volume of used cars with a usage period of 3-6 years was the largest, accounting for 35.75%, an increase of 0.14 percentage points compared with August.

From January to September 2021, the total transaction volume of the national used car market was 12.9668 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 35.34%. Among them, 7.8275 million basic passenger cars were traded, a year-on-year increase of 37.34%; 987,900 buses, a year-on-year increase of 18.22%; 1.0879 million trucks, a year-on-year increase of 22.01%; 1.4186 million SUVs, a year-on-year increase of 55.58%; 752,900 MPVs, a year-on-year increase of 34.12%; and 295,500 crossover passenger cars, a year-on-year increase of 27.22%.

From January to September 2021, all vehicle models showed significant year-on-year growth.

Distribution of used car price ranges from January to September 2021: vehicles in the price range of 30,000 yuan and below decreased by 1.01%, vehicles in the 30,000-50,000 range increased by 1.20%, vehicles in the 50,000-80,000 range decreased by 0.54%, vehicles in the 80,000-120,000 range increased by 0.20%, vehicles in the 120,000-150,000 range decreased by 0.83%, vehicles in the 150,000-300,000 range increased by 0.83%, and vehicles in the 300,000 yuan and above range increased by 0.15%.

The price range below 50,000 yuan increased by 0.18% compared with the same period last year, and the price range of 50,000-150,000 yuan decreased by 1.17% compared with the same period last year.

October is the peak season for the used car market. The average daily transaction volume in the third week was 64,100 vehicles, a month-on-month increase of 3.86% and a 1.4% increase compared with the third week of September. The increase in transaction volume this week was mainly driven by the southern region, with transaction volumes in key regions such as central, southern and southwestern China showing double-digit growth.

Looking back at the situation in the first two weeks of October, the market was brought back to the top of transactions during the National Day in the first week. The holiday economy had a significant driving effect on the used car market. The average daily transaction volume in the second week was 61,600 vehicles, a decrease of 2.33% from the previous month. The car purchasing demand during the Golden Week was basically released, which had some impact on customer attraction and transactions in the second week, especially in the later part of the week. The market traffic began to decline, and the store visit rate of used car dealers was only about 60% of the previous period.

Although the trading peak has returned this week, since October 17, this round of epidemic has spread to 11 provinces across the country, mainly concentrated in Northwest China and North China. Many places have recently launched the third-level response to epidemic prevention and control, advocating not to leave the province unless necessary. At present, some trading markets in the affected areas have suspended operations, and the areas affected by the epidemic are still expanding, which will bring a lot of uncertainty to the second-hand car market in the fourth week of October.

The transfer rate of used cars in September was 27.67%, down 0.85 percentage points from the same period last year and up 0.52 percentage points from the previous month.

The survey shows that in October 2021, 3.2% of companies had an inventory cycle of less than 15 days, which was basically the same as the previous month. Companies with an inventory cycle of 15-30 days accounted for 66.3%, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the previous month. Companies with an inventory cycle of more than 30 days accounted for 30.5%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the previous month. More than 60% of dealers said that the inventory cycle is between 15-30 days.