Strict regulations on emissions and changing consumer preferences in major cities has led consumers to discard old cars for new vehicles. At the time when domestic automotive industry is battling one of the worst sales slump, India’s used car market is booming. The used car market of India is categorized into OEM (original equipment manufacturer) retail franchisees, classified players, consumer-to-business and other transactional platforms.
Despite the sharp slowdown, small towns and cities are driving up the sales of used cars (รับซื้อรถมือสอง). According to the used car dealer Mahindra First Choice Wheels the sales of pre-owned cars is predicted to increase to 4.4 million units this fiscal. Similar forecast has been made by online classifieds platform like OLX India of 4.4-4.5 million units.
Many organized and stand-alone used car resellers expect the current surge in sales of used cars to endure because of new regulations as well as shifting consumer tastes. They say that car owners in metropolitan cities change their vehicles faster and when government bans vehicles such as 15 years old petrol or 10 years diesel cars in Delhi-NCR these vehicles are sold in the used car market, refurbished and then sold again in the smaller cities and towns.
The demand for used cars from tier II cities has increased 10 percent in the second half of fiscal 2019. There is huge demand for 7-10-year-old cars in cities situated near large metros. Also value seeking millennials and Indian families are looking at pre-owned cars with 3 considerations – resale value, technology and safety. Indian millennials are driving India’s consumption story and its reflecting in the pre-owned cars market too.
