Picture: The industry looks forward to building a transparent used car trading system to enhance consumer confidence.

■ Reporter Wu Bofeng Wen/Photo

The domestic automobile market has entered a stage of deep stock competition. New car prices have been frequently adjusted, consumers have become more rational in purchasing cars, and used cars have become the backbone of stabilizing bulk automobile consumption. In the first half of this year, the trading volume of used cars approached 10 million units, achieving bucking the trend against the background of continued decline in new car sales. Behind the data, consumers 'purchase logic has undergone a fundamental change: from simply pursuing low-cost transportation in the past to focusing on transparency of vehicle conditions, supporting after-sales, car scenario adaptation and diversified car purchase channels, the used car consumer market is undergoing all-round structural changes.

Integrity and service become the first threshold for car purchase

Once upon a time, the used car industry was deeply mired in the dilemma of information asymmetry, with frequent concealment of accidents, meter adjustments, and water tankers. Consumer disputes emerged one after another. Low prices were the only consideration for consumers. After years of standardization construction, today, authenticity of used car conditions, improved after-sales sales, and transparent pricing have become prerequisites for car selection.

Xiao Zhengsan, president of China Automobile Dealers Association, told reporters that building credibility is the core foundation for releasing the consumption potential of used cars. The association continues to implement the full life cycle traceability systems of "travel" certification and lemon check vehicles. Last year, it completed the national standard full-vehicle inspection and certification of 730,000 units, of which 660,000 units met the complete vehicle condition disclosure standard. Third-party vehicle condition testing has become a lot of offline The standard of second-hand car dealers creates a more secure consumption environment.

An operator of the Beijing Huaxiang Used Car Market told reporters that in the past, customers asked for the reserve price the first thing they said when entering the store. Now, most consumers will give priority to requesting complete maintenance, accident records and third-party test reports. Vehicles without authoritative endorsements are basically difficult to sell. Value preservation monitoring data released by China Automobile Dealers Association supports this trend: among models at the same price range, the transaction speed of vehicles with formal testing and quality assurance services has increased significantly, and consumers are willing to pay a reasonable premium for transparent vehicle conditions.

Consumer demand has forced the transformation of business models. The profit model that relies solely on price differences between purchases and sales has been gradually eliminated, and value-added services throughout the life cycle have become core competitiveness. Luo Lei, vice president of China Automobile Dealers Association, said that from 2024 to 2025, the after-sales revenue of first-hand car companies will increase by 416%, and businesses such as vehicle preparation, vehicle warranty, and extended maintenance have effectively eliminated consumers 'concerns about buying cars. Taking a second-hand car storage store in Dawan District as an example, the store implements digital management of one car, one gear, and scanning the code can view all records of sheet metal, chassis, third power, insurance, mileage, etc.; simultaneously launches a 7-day paid test drive, 60-day vehicle warranty, lifetime repurchase mechanism for problematic vehicles, and full supervision of transaction funds to dispel consumers 'concerns about insecure car purchases and merchants running away. The transaction rate at the store has steadily exceeded 70%.

Digital tools continue to open up information barriers and significantly reduce the time cost of price comparison, vehicle inspection, and valuation. Lemon Cha relies on the large car vertical model to build three intelligent engines: the vehicle condition agent screens high-risk vehicles such as burning, wading, and unresolved cases with one click;"Easy Dingzun" integrates multi-dimensional real transaction prices to provide objective valuation; The macro market system updates the circulation popularity and regional price differences of each model in real time, and ordinary consumers can also intuitively grasp the market conditions. Online platforms have simultaneously improved two-way guarantees. Car Home has opened up traffic portals such as Gaode and WeChat to provide free one-stop services for door-to-door testing and valuation, significantly reducing the cost of personal car sales time.

New energy vehicles open up a blue ocean of consumption among young groups

As car ownership continues to increase, the differentiation of used car consumption has become increasingly clear: fuel vehicles rely on perfect supporting facilities and huge ownership to maintain the sinking market and the needs of middle-aged families; second-hand new energy vehicles rely on the rapid rise of young people and have become the core incremental track.

Fuel vehicles are still the fundamentals of the market. The "Automobile Hedging Rate Report for the First Half of 2026" released by China Automobile Dealers Association shows that the circulation performance of MPVs, medium and large fuel SUVs, and mainstream Japanese and German family cars has been stable for a long time, and long-distance family travel and business reception support stable demand. A number of second-hand car dealers said that the comprehensive gross profit of bicycles in stores specializing in fuel vehicles has stabilized at around 15%, the residual value of vehicles has declined steadily, and fuel vehicle repair outlets are spread all over the country and have no endurance anxiety, accurately matching the needs of middle-aged families and third-and fourth-tier cities. However, the new car price war continues to spread to the second-hand market. In 2025, a total of 177 new fuel vehicles will be reduced in price, with an average drop of 8.9%. In the first five months of this year, 82 new vehicles will be adjusted, and the second-hand fuel residual value will further decline. Demand for old models with large displacement and high fuel consumption continues to shrink. Consumers are focusing on selecting 3-5-year-old quasi-new family cars. The circulation cycle of old luxury fuel vehicles has been greatly lengthened. Many car owners have a wait-and-see attitude due to the continued price reduction of new cars.

In contrast, the growth momentum of second-hand new energy is strong, with transaction volume increasing by more than 20% year-on-year in the first half of the year, far exceeding the industry average. More than 50% of active platform users are born in the 1995 era, and young people are the core group. The average replacement cycle for fuel vehicles is 6-8 years, and that for new energy vehicles is only 3-4 years. A large number of quasi-new vehicles in 1-3 years have entered the market. When young people buy second-hand trams, they can avoid large depreciation of new vehicles and enjoy smart cabins and low commuting costs. Offline data shows that the average turnover of used new energy vehicles is only 15 days, and the circulation efficiency is three times that of fuel vehicles. Precise segmentation of track demand: Micro pure electricity focuses on short-distance travel in cities, extended-program MPVs are suitable for long-distance travel of families with a large population, and new energy hard-core off-road accurately matches outdoor enthusiasts.

The industry's core pain points focus on battery degradation, inconsistent testing standards for "three electricity" and fluctuations in long-term residual values. To this end, a number of "three electric" special tests have been added to the certification of new energy vehicles. Used cars certified by the main engine factory come with original battery warranty, and offline stores are equipped with professional testing equipment to gradually resolve car purchase concerns. As the amount of new energy continues to rise, there is broad room for growth in second-hand trams and will continue to leverage the consumer market of young people.

Comprehensive change in trading scenarios

Traditional used car transactions are limited to small local stores. Nowadays, digitalization, physical scene upgrades and cross-regional circulation are being implemented simultaneously to break regional restrictions and enrich consumers 'car selection channels. The closed loop of online and offline integrated transactions has been fully mature. According to the person in charge of Xianyu Tongcheng, the platform has 16 million monthly users of second-hand cars. The one-stop price section is strictly selected online. After confirming receipt, buyers can still enjoy 3 days of car return without reason, full refund if the description does not match, 90 days of repurchase, payment for meter vehicles and other guarantees.

The offline trading market has shifted from a single rental model to a compound car life gathering place. An automobile group in Chengdu has created a new market operation model and built two characteristic consumption scenarios: one is a park-style automobile community, which integrates exhibition halls, coffee, parent-child leisure, and pet space to meet the emotional value of young people's car purchases; the other is a hard-core off-road experience center, equipped with a 30,000-square-meter professional test drive track and camping camp, upgrading simple car watching and car buying to immersive leisure consumption. Relying on the 4S store network, many large dealer groups have opened up one-stop services for new car replacement, used car purchase, and maintenance and after-sales services. Car owners do not need to travel multiple places to replace old cars. The entire process of evaluation, transfer, and licensing is handled in an integrated manner, greatly simplifying the consumer vehicle replacement process.

Cross-regional circulation has become the norm. In 2025, the proportion of cross-regional circulation of used cars will exceed 30%, and a unified national circulation market will gradually take shape. Consumers are no longer limited to a small number of local vehicle sources. With the help of online vehicle selection, vehicle logistics, and off-site transfer policies, they can select cost-effective models across provinces and smooth regional price differences. Used cars go out to sea to open up a new incremental market.

Lang Xuehong, deputy secretary-general of China Automobile Dealers Association, told reporters that this year is the first year of real second-hand car exports. The scale of zero-kilometer new car exports has dropped sharply, and existing second-hand cars have gone out to sea in batches. my country's export scale has a small base and its future growth space can reach ten times. She pointed out that the sea of used cars is also good for domestic consumption: overseas channels digest inventories, domestic supply is more sufficient, and regional price differences narrow; exports force the industry to standardize the preparation and testing process, and the domestic standardization level is simultaneously improved, further optimizing the local consumption environment.

Source: China Consumer News

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