The prolonged crisis in the supply of automotive semiconductors, combined with raw material shortages, is causing longer delivery times for new cars. Consequently, more consumers are turning their attention to nearly new used cars that are available for immediate delivery.
According to an analysis of sales data on the Encar platform from January to August this year, along with data on new model year used cars from 2020 to 2022, the proportion of nearly new cars being sold has been steadily increasing.
While total used car sales follow seasonal trends in the used car market, fluctuating during off-peak and peak seasons, the sales of nearly new vehicles show a consistent upward trend regardless of these fluctuations. The share of nearly new used cars sold in January this year was 12.9%, but it rose to 15.5% in March, reached 17.9% in May, and increased to 20.1% in August.
Additionally, analyzing the most popular nearly new used models with the highest inquiry rates in August, the top spot went to the 4th generation Kia Carnival. The second most inquired model was the Hyundai Palisade, followed by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W213, Kia Sorento 4th generation, and Genesis G80 (RG3). Following these were the Hyundai The New Grandeur IG, Genesis GV80, BMW 5 Series (G30), Kia Mohave The Master, and Mercedes-Benz S-Class W223, which took the 6th to 10th spots respectively.
An Encar.com representative noted, “As the long wait times for new car deliveries have not been resolved, there has been a shift towards purchasing recent model used cars, meaning nearly new used cars. In popular models that have been released for less than a year, even factoring in the option prices, there are cases where the used car market price exceeds the new car price.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr