The Zhitong Finance App learned that the China Automobile Dealers Association published an article stating that in the first two weeks of October 2024, the used car market officially entered the peak season, with an average daily trading volume of 66,900 vehicles, up 1.92% from last week, and 7.7% from the beginning of September.
Note: The trading volume is calculated over 5 business days
According to VAT invoice data released by the State Administration of Taxation, during the National Day holiday, the country's used car sales increased 65.9% year on year, and new car sales increased 11.7% year on year. Among them, new energy vehicles increased 45.8% year on year. Judging from the order data currently released by major automobile manufacturers, the number of orders placed by many new energy brands during the 11th Golden Week set a new weekly sales record. This year's National Day became the strongest “Golden Week” for the car market in history.
Under the guidance and deployment of the Ministry of Commerce, and in line with the launch of the Consumer Promotion Month campaign, the China Automobile Dealers Association, together with local governments and relevant member organizations, jointly organized the “China Automobile Consumption Festival - 100 Cities Cooperation” series of activities. According to the Association's statistics, during the National Day, the “China Auto Consumer Festival” has successfully held 15 car tour-related events in Shenzhen, Tianjin, Suzhou, Shenyang, Hohhot, Xingtai, Linyi, Yantai, Zaozhuang, Jining, Heze, Hangzhou, Dongguan, Lanzhou, and Tai'an, selling a total of 8,7755 vehicles, achieving sales of nearly 16 billion yuan and nearly 3 million visitors. Continued expansion of automobile consumption has effectively promoted the elimination and renewal of old vehicles, injecting a large number of high-quality vehicles into the used car market.
Judging from changes in consumption characteristics, used car consumers now tend to spend more rationally, so the car purchase cycle has also been extended. According to research, in the first two weeks of October, used car dealer traffic increased by about 15% compared to the end of September. Judging from the current transaction volume, the customers who made transactions were basically potential consumers who had been consulting in September, and the gradual transformation began in the first two weeks of October. On a comparable scale, the volume of used car transactions from October 1 to 13 was 800,000 units, an increase of 11% over the same period in September. With the advancement of the country's package of consumer promotion policies and the recent strong growth in the stock market, it is expected that the used car market will continue to rise in the next two weeks, so I am cautiously optimistic about the market trend in the middle and late stages of this month.
Used car weekly regional analysis
The used car market in most regions showed a steady rise this week. The volume of transactions in the four regions of North China, East China, Southwest China, and Northwest China all increased to varying degrees compared to last week. The volume of transactions in Northeast China and Central and South China declined slightly this week, but the overall trend was stable.
Specifically, East China, as the core hub for used car trading in the country, remained strong this week, with an average daily trading volume of 19,700 vehicles, an increase of 2.75% over the previous week. In particular, in the Shandong region, such as Linyi and Zaozhuang, there was a significant increase in trading volume. However, the current market activity in Shanghai is not high; it has declined by 10% over the past two weeks.
The average daily volume of used cars traded in North China was 0.28 million units, up 4.15% from the previous week. Market demand in major cities such as Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, and Chifeng increased markedly, with growth rates of 17%, 12%, and 5.7%, respectively. As the core city in North China, the market showed a correction this week, with a 7% decline; Tianjin also experienced a slight decline.
The average daily volume of used cars traded in the Tohoku region this week was 0.23 million units, down 2.59% from the previous week. Following the rapid growth of markets in major cities such as Changchun and Harbin this week, trading volume began to decline in October, but Dalian continued to grow by 3.8%.
The average daily volume of used cars traded in the southwest region this week was 16,900 units, up 7.56% month-on-month, making it the region with the highest growth rate this week. Guizhou, Chengdu, and Mianyang all increased by more than 10% this week. Following a slight decline last week, activity in Yunnan continued to decline this week, and a correction is expected in the next two weeks.
The average daily volume of used cars traded in the central and southern regions this week was 241,000 units, down 2.35% from the previous month. Markets in most of the central and southern regions showed a downward trend this week. Provincial capitals such as Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Changsha all showed a correction. After Haikou was affected by the typhoon, the market did not make up for the trend.
The northwest region is relatively underdeveloped in the field of used car trading. The average daily trading volume this week was 0.12,000 vehicles, an increase of 6.87% over the previous month. Markets in Urumqi, Wu Zhong and other places began to pick up clearly this week. The growth rate was around 20%, but Lanzhou and Xi'an both declined to varying degrees.
In summary, the overall used car market showed a steady growth trend in the first two weeks of October 2024, and regional market performance varied. Driven by the country's consumer policy and strong stock market growth, it is expected that the used car market will continue to rise, but attention should be paid to regional differences and changes in market dynamics to respond flexibly to market fluctuations.