NEV Used Cars: 3‑Day Sales Amid Boom（August 31）

Used Cars: "Sold Within Three Days" — NEV Used Car Markets Continue to Heat Up

Source: China Youth Network  |  http://news.youth.cn/gn/202608/t20260830_16842098.htm

Since the beginning of this year, the domestic used car market has maintained a steady upward trend overall. Data released by the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) shows that in the first seven months of this year, cumulative used car transactions reached 11.2748 million units, up 0.39% year-on-year, an increase of 43,800 units compared to the same period last year. Among them, new energy vehicle (NEV) used cars have been a significant driving force. Why are NEV used cars increasingly favored by consumers? What market potential will new changes in automobile consumption unleash?

CADA data shows that in the first half of this year, China’s used car transaction volume approached that of new cars, with some used cars priced at roughly half of new car prices. Meanwhile, NEV used car transaction volumes in multiple regions have continued to rise.

Luo Lei, Vice President of CADA: The ratio of used cars to new cars reached 97.9% in the first half, essentially 1:1. The NEV used car market continues to grow rapidly. According to association data, NEV used car transactions reached 839,000 units in the first half of this year, up 22% year-on-year, with NEV used cars accounting for 8.6% of total used car transactions.

In other words, for every 100 used cars sold currently, nearly nine are NEV models. The market’s fervor is particularly evident at used car dealerships. Zhu Jia, head of a used car dealership in Changxing County, Huzhou, Zhejiang, told reporters that boosted by market demand, NEV used cars at his dealership have been selling very well this year, with cumulative sales reaching 50–60 units, and overall vehicle prices have risen compared to last year.

Zhu Jia: NEVs sell particularly well — they are basically sold within three days of arriving at the dealership. Cars from last year placed this year still see price increases. NEV brands with large market presence are very popular with insurance companies; premiums are not much different from fuel vehicles, just slightly more expensive, but everyone can accept it.

Shao Qixiong, head of an automobile sales company in Xi’an who has been deeply involved in the front-line market for many years, believes that the hot sales of NEV used cars are fundamentally driven by increasingly rational consumer purchasing concepts, along with more abundant vehicle supply in the market.

Shao Qixiong: Consumers no longer blindly pursue brand-new vehicles; they value practical cost-performance ratios more. From actual market transactions, mainstream transaction prices concentrate in the 50,000–150,000 yuan range. This price point balances range and features, with high acceptance among ordinary families. With NEVs having been popularized for so many years, the first batch of household NEVs has begun entering the replacement cycle, and a large number of near-new and commuter vehicles have flowed into the used car market. The supply of selectable vehicles is much more abundant than in previous years. Plus, new models iterate very quickly, with many owners changing cars after just one or two years, further amplifying NEV used car supply.

As consumer demand upgrades and vehicle sources continue to expand, the internal business structure of the used car industry is also changing. In Zhengzhou, Henan, many local used car dealers have proactively adjusted their business focus, increasing investment in NEV used car operations. Used car dealer Zhang Di stated that NEV used cars offer low operating costs and rich intelligent configurations, precisely meeting the purchasing needs of young consumer groups.

Zhang Di: NEV used cars currently sell somewhat better than traditional fuel vehicles. They save fuel, have high-tech configurations, because the current consumer group is all post-00s — features like intelligent driving, and the “refrigerator, TV, big sofa”, heated seats in the car, these configurations are relatively higher.

Regarding the market-attention issue of residual value, a report recently released by CADA shows that in the first half of 2026, the three-year average residual value rate for fuel vehicles was 46.07%, while for NEVs it was 44.8% — a marginal gap. Luo Lei stated that the industry pain points of rapid depreciation and low residual value that once troubled consumers of NEV used cars have now been significantly improved, with market acceptance greatly enhanced.

Luo Lei: The market has fully accepted NEV used cars. The front end has accepted new NEVs, and within the consumption structure, NEV used cars are also accepted. Especially with the continuously optimizing market environment — for vehicle condition issues, professional institutions can provide third-party inspection reports; for battery issues, professional institutions can provide battery health assessments. Consumers’ skeptical attitudes toward used cars are gradually being dispelled, so many consumers are now willing to purchase NEV used cars.

The continued implementation of various favorable policies has also safeguarded the used car market, especially the NEV used car segment. Since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Commerce and nine other departments have implemented a green consumption promotion action, explicitly proposing to promote green automobile consumption and tap the potential of the “aftermarket” including used cars. Various regions across the country have also successively introduced favorable policies, offering used car replacement subsidies and simplifying online transaction registration processes, with some cities offering up to 4,000 yuan in single-vehicle replacement subsidies, effectively driving used car consumption demand.

To further activate the consumption potential of the used car market, multiple regions have successively introduced favorable policies to optimize used car circulation. For example, just this week, Changchun, Jilin continued its “Golden Autumn Car Exchange” automobile consumption promotion campaign. Wang Hongyuan, Division Chief of the Market System Construction Division of the Changchun Municipal Commerce Bureau, introduced that during the campaign, individual consumers purchasing non-commercial used passenger vehicles of 30,000 yuan or above from designated dealers can receive up to 4,000 yuan in subsidies per vehicle.

Wang Hongyuan: Including used cars in the subsidy scope was mainly considered to continuously revitalize the existing car market, connect the new-old car replacement cycle, align with local essential consumption needs, and seize the golden September and silver October consumption peak season. This subsidy implementation can directly reduce citizens’ car purchase costs, stimulate essential demand entering the market, and also force the used car industry to standardize operations. Combined with cross-provincial circulation facilitation policies, it further activates NEV used car transactions while driving old-to-new car replacement, achieving two-way warming of both used and new car markets.

In addition, in recent years, the nationwide complete removal of used car relocation restrictions, implementation of electronic vehicle record transfers, and other measures have further cleared the bottlenecks in cross-regional vehicle circulation, making used car transactions more efficient and convenient.

Luo Lei: The policy barriers that previously restricted used car transactions have basically been eliminated. Under current new policies, after dealers acquire vehicles, they can issue reverse invoices and make separate annotations, during which used cars are allowed to exist in an intermediate state without requiring license plates, restoring their commodity nature. This has greatly reduced used car transaction costs. Meanwhile, the government continuously encourages making used car information transparent through market-based means, including supporting the growth of third-party inspection institutions and a series of policies, all making the used car consumption environment better and better.

Currently, China’s automobile ownership has reached 370 million units, with an increasing number of vehicles entering the replacement cycle each year. Luo Lei stated that the growth space for the used car industry is very broad, and the market penetration rate of NEV used cars will continue to rise.

Luo Lei: The used car market will maintain a good growth trend, because we have a very large vehicle ownership as support, which will certainly lay a solid foundation for the rapid growth of the used car market. NEV used cars will continue to maintain relatively rapid growth, maintaining 20% or even higher growth in the second half of the year.

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