Cui Dongshu: In February, the national second-hand car market transactions totaled 1.39 million units, a decrease of 5% compared to the previous month, and an increase of 15.78% compared to the same period last year.

At the China Automobile Dealers Association's Secretary General Forum, Cui Dongshu stated that in February 2025, the national second-hand car market trading volume was 1.39 million units, a 5% decrease from the previous month, a 15.78% increase from the same period last year, with a trading amount of 89.9 billion RMB, up 7.5% year-on-year. From January to February 2025, the cumulative trading volume of second-hand cars was 2.85 million units, a 1.3% decrease year-on-year, with a trading amount of 186.2 billion RMB, down by 5%. With the explosive growth of the new energy car market, the penetration rate of new energy cars in February 2025 reached 9.1%. Cui Dongshu believes that the Chinese second-hand car market is currently in a rapid growth stage, with tremendous potential for future development, especially in the development of new energy cars, which provides an advantage of low cost for more ordinary consumers in China to purchase and use cars. With the release of national scrappage renewal policies, the second-hand car business and car scrappage renewal of automobile dealer groups are flourishing. The potential for development of the Chinese second-hand car market is enormous, and the phase-out of old vehicles for new ones has exceeded expectations this year, with some areas exceeding the target subsidy ahead of schedule. The replacement of old vehicles with new ones in 2025 will inevitably experience strong growth. 1. Industry Development Returns to the Fast Lane The second-hand car market was active from January to May 2024, relatively stable from June to August, and relatively active from September to December, especially a clear year-end effect in December. The second-hand cars trade in January 2025 was weak, gradually picking up in February. In recent years, the second-hand car market has shown rapid growth, from 6 million units in 2014 to 17.59 million units in 2021, an increase of 11 million units in 7 years, demonstrating strong growth. In 2022, the overall second-hand car trading volume was relatively low, down by 9% year-on-year. Since 2023, the development of the second-hand car industry has returned to the fast lane, with sales reaching 18.41 million units in 2023, a 15% increase year-on-year. From January to December 2024, the cumulative trading volume of second-hand cars was 19.6142 million units, up by 6.52% year-on-year, an increase of 1.2008 million units compared to the same period. In February 2025, the national second-hand car market trading volume was 1.39 million units, down by 5% month-on-month, a 15.78% increase year-on-year, with a trading amount of 89.9 billion RMB, up 7.5% year-on-year. From January to February 2025, the cumulative trading volume of second-hand cars was 2.85 million units, a 1.3% decrease year-on-year, with a trading amount of 186.2 billion RMB, down by 5%. As the level of second-hand car trading continues to rise, the trading volume of second-hand cars is gradually increasing. In 2022, the trading volume of second-hand cars reached 1.0596 trillion RMB, in 2023, it reached 1.1795 trillion RMB, an increase of 11%, and the cumulative trading amount in 2024 was 1.2852 trillion RMB, indicating a continuous increase in the scale of second-hand car trading. The trading amount from January to February 2025 was 186.2 billion RMB, down 5%, with the growth rate of trading amount lagging significantly behind the growth rate of trading volume. 2. Structure of Second-hand Car Transactions The structure of the second-hand car market shows a continuous growth in the sedan market, while the bus market is relatively shrinking. The overall structure of the second-hand car market tends towards the high-end consumption of SUVs and MPVs. 3. Age of Second-hand Car Transactions The trading performance of nearly new cars is strong, mainly in the composition of new energy cars becoming second-hand cars. Currently, the structure of second...The market has seen a significant increase in sales, with a large proportion of transactions for cars in the 80,000 to 150,000 yuan range in recent times. With the promotion of the scrappage and replacement policy, the sales of second-hand new energy vehicles have increased, and the sales of models under 30,000 yuan have also increased recently.Currently, the residual value advantage of scrapped new energy vehicles is gradually being reflected, and the scrapped renewal policy is pushing more used cars to accelerate the scrappage and renewal process. 8. Second-hand car transfer ratio The transfer ratio of second-hand cars fluctuates between 25% and 30%, reaching a historical high of 29.1% in the first quarter of 2025. Currently, due to the convenience of second-hand car transfers, the transfer ratio has risen to a relatively high level. Currently, Beijing and Shanghai are the two main regions where second-hand car transactions flow out, while Anhui, Shandong, Jilin, and other areas are the main regions where second-hand car transactions flow in. The outflow of second-hand cars in Beijing is relatively strong, consistently ranking at the top, reflecting the significant scale of second-hand cars exiting the Beijing market. 9. Duration of second-hand car inventory The inventory of second-hand cars is currently experiencing a minor decrease, with the inventory pressure improving in the first quarter of 2025. The proportion of second-hand cars held for over 30 days in the first quarter of 2025 decreased to 34%; the proportion of second-hand cars held for 15-30 days is relatively low at 40%; and the proportion of second-hand cars held for less than 15 days is at 26%. Overall, the operational pressure on second-hand cars in 2025 seems to be gradually improving. With the gradual push of new car policies, this has led to a downward pressure on the transaction prices of second-hand cars due to the lower actual transaction prices of new cars, narrowing the price difference for second-hand cars and bringing certain operational pressures. 10. Resale value of second-hand cars Currently, the three-year resale value of new energy vehicles is generally at a low level, which is normal in a rapidly developing market. While the monthly changes in new energy vehicles' resale value are not significant, there has been a noticeable improvement compared to the previous two years, which is likely unsustainable. New energy vehicles are considered durable consumer goods and do not have a vehicle purchase tax, so their resale value is expected to be significantly lower than that of traditional fuel vehicles. The resale value of domestically-owned brands is declining as manufacturers introduce new brands in pursuit of high-end positioning, but this has not translated to a pricing advantage in the second-hand market. The continuous drop in second-hand car prices has already led to some dealers leaving the market, similar to the fierce competition in the new car market, making industry transformation and consolidation inevitable. At a macro level, there is a clear judgment on the depreciation of second-hand cars, with the scrapping of older cars stimulating new car sales and potentially replacing the traditional replacement path. Due to the factor of battery residual value, new energy vehicles have a higher residual value, and as the price of lithium carbonate gradually stabilizes, the residual value advantage of long-life new energy vehicles will also be reflected.