August 15, 2016, 00:29 / Auto

Used car market growth slowed in July

expects Autostat At the end of the year, it will increase by 7–10%, Polina Gritsenko

Used cars have slowed down / E. Razumny / Vedomosti

The spring recovery in the used car market has subsided: at the end of July, it increased by 1.6% year-on-year to 458,000 units, the analytical agency Autostat reported. While from February to June the growth was double-digit, and the peak occurred in May (see chart). Over the seven months of 2016, the growth was 9.3%, and the number of re-registered cars reached 2.92 million units, notes Autostat.

In the spring, there is always growth in the used car market; in the summer, on the contrary, activity subsides, says Sergei Udalov, executive director of Autostat. In addition, last summer, the second wave of ruble weakening caused an increase in sales of used cars since the beginning of summer: consumers monitor changes in exchange rates, trying to buy a car before the price goes up, says Roman Abramov, product director at CarPrice. Against the background of a small number of transactions at the beginning of 2015, the summer rush, according to him, provided such a contrast. There was a slight decrease in sales growth in July, notes commercial director of Autospetscenter Alexander Zinoviev, without disclosing absolute figures.

True, the data of not all dealers coincides with the conclusions of Autostat. Thus, sales of used cars at dealerships of the Avtomir Group of Companies in July increased by 15.5% year-on-year to 1,224 cars, said Alexander Chukhnov, head of used car sales. In July, Klyuchavto Group sold 60% more used cars than a year earlier; in June, this figure was more modest, says dealer representative Vladimir Verbitsky. At the same time, according to him, sales growth continued in August, he notes. Prices for new cars have increased more than for used ones, recalls Verbitsky: since the beginning of the year - by 20–40 and 5–20%, respectively. At Rolf, the demand for used cars is also growing steadily: in July - by 42%, in total over seven months - by 39%, said Alexey Barinov, director of Rolf's Blue Fish used car sales division. The buying boom in the market for new cars occurred in 2012–2013, and it is these cars that are now running out of warranty, adds Verbitsky.

Official dealers are increasing their share of the used car market: already every tenth such car is purchased from a dealer, and in large cities this figure is even higher, Barinov notes and Verbitsky agrees. Buyers, according to the latter, are getting used to buying cars from large dealer holdings, and not from others. At the end of 2015, according to Auto Business Review, dealers accounted for 8% of sales. At the same time, on the Avto.ru portal, the number of advertisements removed due to the sale of cars in July was on average 12% lower than in July 2015. However, in the last week of the month, demand exceeded the result of last year by 5%, the representative specified. Auto RU". At the same time, according to him, the number of proposals remained at the 2015 level.

The used car market will grow by 7–10% by the end of 2016, Udalov predicts. You shouldn’t expect a revival in August, but a slight increase may be in the fall, he believes.

In July, sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles fell by 16.6% to 109,410 units, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB), over seven months - by 14.4% to 781,605 vehicles. The AEB forecast for 2016 is 1.44 million units, which means a drop of 10.3% compared to 2015.