Used car prices continue to rise: in January compared to December, they increased by almost 10%, and increased by an average of 60% over the year. Moreover, in the regions, used cars are getting more expensive than in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the capitals, the choice in the secondary market is richer, and the price dynamics strongly depends on the age of the cars sold, experts explain. The average price of a used car in Russia in January 2022 amounted to almost 640 thousand rubles, which is 60% higher than a year earlier, according to Russian Automotive Market Research (NAPI). At the same time, over the past month, used cars have risen in price by almost 7%.
If in Moscow and St. Petersburg from January to December prices in the secondary market increased by 5% and 4% (up to 1.1 million rubles and 929 thousand rubles, respectively), then in Tolyatti the price increase exceeded 14%, and in Chelyabinsk it amounted to almost 12%.
At the same time, the number of cars resold in Russia varies greatly depending on their brands. According to a study by Avtostat Info, the volume of the used car market in January increased by 9.6% compared to the same month in 2021.
Moreover, in the past year, citizens were most active in reselling foreign cars: the number of re-registrations in this segment increased by 13% over the year, to 259,000 cars.
Domestic cars demonstrate more modest dynamics - growth among them was less than 3%. However, Lada remained the leader of the used car market in 2021 (87.2 thousand cars per year, plus 2%). The second place was taken by Toyota (39.9 thousand cars), the demand for which has grown sharply - by more than 85%. In third place is the Korean Kia (19.5 thousand an increase of 4.1%).
According to Avito Auto, the demand for used cars in January remained stable throughout the country compared to December, but in some regions it increased significantly. In particular, in Barnaul the increase was 13%, in Irkutsk - more than 9%, and in Novosibirsk - about 8%.
Avtostat Info registers against this background a decline in re-registrations in the country as a whole - from 555 to 539 thousand cars per month.
The situation in the used car market is still heavily dependent on the shortage of new cars, and a more stable situation in Moscow and St. Petersburg is due to the large supply in large cities, experts say.
“The balance of supply and demand in Moscow and St. Petersburg is somewhat better, including in the secondary market,” says Vladimir Bespalov, an auto industry analyst at VTB Capital, in an interview with VTB Capital, “In addition, the average cost of cars in the capitals is higher than in regions, and from a higher base in relative terms, growth is less noticeable.”
The trends observed in the secondary market are highly dependent on what happens in the primary market - the deficit remains there and prices will rise, but not as actively as last year, he adds. In addition to the lack of new cars, inflation leads to higher prices, which is observed not only in Russia, but throughout the world.
Equilibrium in the car market can be expected no earlier than mid-summer, provided that, on the one hand, the shortage of new cars decreases slightly, and, on the other hand, the continued rise in prices will make them less affordable.
Prices for used cars on the Russian market are growing unevenly, relatively “fresh” cars have risen in price much more than the average last year, says Sergey Udalov, executive director of the Avtostat analytical agency.
“Cars under the age of 7 years have risen in price by 35% over the past year, while older cars have risen in price by only 20%.
Until the delivery time of new cars is reduced, and their potential buyers tend to choose relatively “young” used cars, which are not so many,” Udalov says, “Sales of such cars in 2021 decreased relative to 2020, people do not want to sell them."
By the end of the year, the dynamics of price growth in the secondary market decreased, but they are still increasing, and this trend will continue for at least six months, Udalov predicts.
According to Avtostat estimates, in 2021 new cars in Russia rose in price less intensively than used ones: their weighted average price increased by 20% over the year, exceeding 2 million rubles (against 1.68 million rubles a year earlier). The rise in prices in the primary market does not stop: only in February, the price tags for their products were rewritten by 12 car brands.
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