China Automobile Dealers Association: In-depth analysis of the used car market in October 2020

In October 2020, the national second-hand car market transaction volume was 1.4789 million vehicles, a month-on-month increase of 0.87% and a month-on-year increase of 16.68%. The transaction amount was 90.572 billion yuan.

1. Market Overview in October 2020

Passenger car situation: A total of 896,100 basic passenger cars were traded, a month-on-month increase of 1.32% and a year-on-year increase of 22.30%; a total of 138,300 SUVs were traded, a month-on-month increase of 2.67% and a year-on-year decrease of 3.05%; a total of 82,300 MPVs were traded, a month-on-month decrease of 0.84% ​​and a year-on-year increase of 4.93%; a total of 32,900 crossover passenger cars were traded, a month-on-month increase of 0.98% and a year-on-year decrease of 0.65%.

In October, the national second-hand car transaction volume was 1.4789 million, an increase of 16.68 percentage points compared with the same period last year. In the first half of the year, due to the impact of the epidemic, only in May did the second-hand car transaction volume increase slightly compared with the same period last year. In the third quarter, the national transaction volume turned from decline to increase, and the market vitality continued to increase. Since August, the transaction volume has increased by double digits compared with the same period last year.

In October 2020, second-hand passenger cars with National IV emissions accounted for the largest proportion of 48.50%, a decrease of 0.38% month-on-month. The second largest proportion was National V emissions, accounting for 36.44%, an increase of 1.68% month-on-month, and National II and III emissions accounted for 3.34% and 11.70% respectively, down 0.53% and 0.77% month-on-month respectively. National I emissions accounted for the smallest proportion of 0.02%, down 0.01% month-on-month.

From January to October 2020, the sales volume of used passenger cars was dominated by vehicles that met the National IV emission standard, accounting for an average of 48.56%. The second largest category was vehicles that met the National V emission standard, accounting for an average of 33.41%, while vehicles that met the National III and National II emission standards accounted for an average of 13.38% and 4.57% respectively. Vehicles that met the National I emission standard accounted for only 0.08%.

In October, the transaction volume of used cars with a use age of 3-6 years was the largest, accounting for 35.46%, a decrease of 4.33 percentage points compared with September; the proportion of used cars with a use age of less than 3 years was 24.25%, an increase of 0.24 percentage points; the proportion of used cars with a use age of 7-10 years was 26.55%, an increase of 3.71 percentage points; the proportion of used cars with a use age of more than 10 years was 13.74%, an increase of 0.38 percentage points.

In October, the market share of used cars with a price range of less than 30,000 yuan was the largest, at 30.96%, down 0.50% from the previous month; the market share of vehicles with a price range of 30,000-50,000 yuan was 23.33%, up 2.60% from the previous month; the market share of used cars with a price range of more than 300,000 yuan was the smallest, at 2.16%, down 0.66% from the previous month; in October, except for the used car transaction volume in the price ranges of 30,000-50,000 yuan, 50,000-80,000 yuan, and 80,000-120,000 yuan, which increased month-on-month, the transaction volume in other price ranges decreased month-on-month. Vehicles with a price range of less than 50,000 yuan accounted for 54.29%, accounting for more than half of the overall market transaction volume.

II. Market Overview from January to October 2020

From January to October 2020, the total transaction volume of the national second-hand car market was 11.0598 million vehicles, a year-on-year decrease of 6.69%. Among them, 6.5953 million basic passenger cars were traded, a year-on-year decrease of 3.52%; 962,500 buses, a year-on-year decrease of 16.92%; 1.0299 million trucks, a year-on-year decrease of 7.76%; 1.0501 million SUVs, a year-on-year decrease of 6.87%; 643,600 MPVs, a year-on-year decrease of 15.63%; and 265,200 crossover passenger cars, a year-on-year decrease of 8.73%.

From January to October 2020, affected by factors such as the epidemic, only low-speed trucks showed a slight increase compared with the same period last year, while other types of vehicles showed a significant decline compared with the same period, and the cumulative decline further narrowed compared with January to September.

The distribution of used car sales by city from January to October 2020: first-tier cities accounted for 12.95%, an increase of 0.14% over last year; second-tier cities accounted for 42.90%, an increase of 0.84% ​​over last year; third-tier cities accounted for 17.70%, a decrease of 0.60% over last year; fourth-tier cities accounted for 15.77%, a decrease of 0.59% over last year; fifth-tier cities accounted for 10.68%, an increase of 0.21% over last year.

From January to October 2020, the sales volume of used cars in third- and fourth-tier cities decreased slightly compared with last year, while the proportion of first-, second- and fifth-tier cities increased.

3. Analysis of the liquidity of used cars

In October, the transfer rate of used cars was 28.34%, a slight decrease from the previous month. The cross-regional circulation was better than the same period last year, an increase of 3.29 percentage points year-on-year.

From January to October, the total number of second-hand car transfers was 2.9933 million, and the transfer ratio was 27.06%, a decrease of 1.53 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

4. Dealer Survey

The data shows that the proportion of enterprises with 30-50 used car inventories is the largest at 61%, while those with less than 30 vehicles in inventory account for 30%, and those with more than 50 vehicles in inventory account for 9%. In November, the proportion of enterprises with inventory cycles of less than 15 days was 12%, down 1% from the previous month. The proportion of enterprises with inventory cycles of 15-30 days was 59%, up 3% from the previous month, and the proportion of enterprises with inventory cycles of more than 30 days was 29%, down 2% from the previous month.