Cui Dongshu: In August, the trading volume of the national used car market was 1,516,000 units, down 3% month-on-month, and 11% year-on-year
The Zhitong Finance App learned that on October 30, Cui Dongshu, Secretary General of the Passenger Transport Association, published an article stating that in August 2026, the national used car market traded 1,516 million units, down 3% from the previous month, down 11% from the previous year, and the transaction amount was 97 billion yuan, down 9% year on year. From January to August 2026, the cumulative volume of used car transactions was 12.79 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 1%, and the transaction volume was 840 billion yuan, an increase of 0.5%.
In August 2026, the volume of transactions in the national NEV used car market was 140,500 units, down 2% month-on-month and 5.3% year-on-year, and the NEV penetration rate was 12.6%. From January to August 2026, the cumulative trading volume of new energy used vehicles was 1.1231 million units, an increase of 14.9% over the previous year.
Under the appeal of the China Automobile Dealers Association, the circulation of used cars improved. Local traffic management departments do practical things, facilitate mass enterprises to do business, and promote the circulation of used cars. However, compared with the advanced international developed markets, the proportion of used car transactions in China is relatively low, while the Chinese automobile market started relatively late, and used car consumption started even later. Currently, used cars are in a stage of rapid rise, and the potential for future development is enormous. In particular, the development of new energy vehicles has given more ordinary Chinese consumers a huge advantage in buying and using cars at low cost. Although the strength of the national end-of-life renewal policy is temporarily slowing down, the potential for used car development in China is extremely huge. The used car business and car scrap renewal of automobile dealership groups are booming, and the used car market is bound to grow continuously in all aspects.
1. The development of the used car industry has entered a period of strong development
Used car trading was active in 2023-2024, and strong growth was achieved. Due to Spring Festival factors, used car transactions were weak in January-August 2026, gradually declined in April-June, and the used car trend declined further in July-August, and car market consumption was weak.
In recent years, used cars have shown rapid development, rising all the way from 12.4 million units in 2017 to 2011 million units in 2025, showing a relatively strong increase. In August 2026, the volume of transactions in the national used car market was 1,516 million units, down 3% from the previous month, down 11% from the previous year, and the transaction amount was 97 billion yuan, down 9% year on year. From January to August 2026, the cumulative volume of used car transactions was 12.79 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 1%, and the transaction volume was 840 billion yuan, an increase of 0.5%.
Due to the diversification of used car transactions, the unit price of used car transactions has been relatively stable in recent years, and the transaction volume has continued to increase, which is very good for the car market.
2. Used car transaction structure
The pattern of the used car market shows that the SUV and MPV markets continue to grow. Due to the excessive share of cars, the current structure of the used car market and new cars are moving towards high-end consumption of SUVs and MPVs. The proportion of bus and truck transactions increased significantly in 2026.
3. Used car trading age
Used cars performed well in second-hand car transactions, mainly as a component of NEVs becoming used cars. Looking at the current trading structure of used cars: used cars with an age of 10 years or more are gradually declining. The overall proportion reached 8.7% in August 2026, while the proportion reached 45.1% in 3-6 years, and the proportion of models under 3 years reached 31.7%, which is absolutely high.
At present, there has been an increase in the number of old and middle-aged vehicle transactions, and with the continuous improvement of automobile product technology, the quality guarantee for older vehicles is getting better and better. There is also huge potential for future growth in the scrapping and renewal of such middle-aged and elderly vehicles.
Due to its short development period, the Chinese car market is relatively short compared to the age of used car transactions in mature countries. The share of used cars in China in 3-5 years and used car transactions in 1-3 years is relatively high, while most used cars traded in developed countries such as the US are over 5 years old. In particular, used cars over 8 years old account for a relatively high share of used cars in France and Japan.
4. Used car transaction price trends
In the past two years, the average price trend of used car transactions has developed pragmatically. The share of used cars worth 30,000 to 50,000 yuan has declined markedly, while the share of models under 30,000 yuan has continued to decline. This year, products worth 50,000 to 80,000 yuan have risen sharply.
5. New energy used car trading strengthened
In August 2026, the volume of transactions in the national NEV used car market was 140,500 units, down 2% month-on-month and 5.3% year-on-year, and the NEV penetration rate was 12.6%. From January to August 2026, the cumulative trading volume of new energy used vehicles was 1.1231 million units, an increase of 14.9% over the previous year.
As new vehicle sales in the NEV market explode and grow, the scale of NEV used vehicle ownership continues to increase. As a result, NEV's used car penetration rate continues to rise, from 3.6% at the end of 2022 to 12.6% in August 2026. Compared with the share of NEV ownership, the share of used NEV transactions is basically growing at the same time. In the future, with the rapid growth of new energy vehicles and the gradual stabilization of prices, new energy used vehicles have great potential for development.
6. Trends in the age of new energy used cars
In the third quarter of 2026, 29% of the country's new energy used vehicles had a service life of less than 2 years, down 9.2 percentage points from the same period last year.
In the 3rd quarter of 2026, the usage period of 2-4 years accounted for 46.2%, an increase of 9.4 percentage points over the same period last year.
In the 3rd quarter of 2026, transactions with a usage period of 4-6 years accounted for 13.7%, an increase of 2.7 percentage points over last year.
In the 3rd quarter of 2026, the proportion of 6 years or more reached 11.3%, down 2.6 percentage points from last year.
Looking at 2026 as a whole, the number of young used cars in the NEV age structure will increase, and the market is more active.
7. New energy used car transaction price
The transaction price of new energy used cars has increased markedly. Recently, the share of 80,000-120,000 yuan models in transactions has increased dramatically. As scrapping and renewal and trade-in policies have boosted the growth of old new energy used cars, sales of models under 30,000 yuan have recently declined.
The current residual value advantage of the scrapping of new energy vehicles is gradually being reflected, and the scrap renewal policy pushes more used cars to speed up scrapping and renewal.
8. Used car transfer ratio
The transfer rate of used cars has been fluctuating between 25% and 30% in the previous period, reaching a current historical high of 31.3% in the 3rd quarter of 2026. Looking at it now, due to the increase in the convenience of used car transfers, the proportion of used car transfers has risen to a high level.
Currently, Beijing and Shanghai are the two main export regions for used car transactions, while Anhui, Shandong, and Jilin are also the main areas where used car transactions flow in. The Beijing region's used car outflow is relatively strong and has always occupied the first place, which shows that the scale of used car outflows from the Beijing market is relatively strong.
9. Used car inventory time
Used car inventories are currently in a stable state. In the 3rd quarter of 2026, the used car inventory pressure is relatively high. In particular, the inventory of used cars over 30 days in the 3rd quarter of 2026 accounted for 41%, a structural increase compared to the same period last year; the 15-30 day used car inventory had a lower ratio of 26%; while the proportion of used cars within 15 days was 34%. Currently, it feels like the number of short-aged cars has decreased, and the overall operating pressure of used cars in 2026 is still relatively high. With the gradual promotion of the new car policy, the transaction price of used cars is actually affected by the decline in the actual transaction price of new cars, which has led to a reduction in the price difference of used cars, which has also put a certain amount of pressure on the used car business.
10. Used car value preservation rate
After price adjustments in 2026, all brands and manufacturers have found new market positions, and the competitive landscape has returned to an “orderly” state. Currently, the three-year value preservation rate for new energy vehicles is generally at a low level, which is completely normal in a rapidly developing market.
The “internal volume” of hybrids continues. Used cars generally have problems with poor technology and high energy consumption, and are unattractive to consumers.
Since new energy vehicles are a treasure trove, the residual value of used electric vehicle batteries is expensive, and the residual value of new energy vehicles is even higher. As speculation about the price of lithium carbonate rises, the value preservation advantages of new energy vehicles for long-time vehicles will also be reflected. Currently, the number of NEVs being scrapped is minimal, and long-age NEVs are still valuable.