Car average age growth and 60% share of Chinese cars: an expert on current market situation

The situation with sales of new cars

July has become a turning point for the Russian car market. After three consecutive months of declining sales of new passenger cars (from April to June), there was an increase in July.

For example, in August 2024, 148,300 new passenger cars were sold in Russia, Avtostat reports. This is the best result in the last 40 months, that is, in almost 3.5 years. The last time such an indicator was recorded was in April 2021, when 171,500 units were sold. Since then, monthly sales have not exceeded the 150,000 mark.

“There has been no shortage of new cars in popular segments for many months. Representative offices provide the necessary level of supplies," Ananyev said.

Average cost is two million rubles

In July 2024, Russians set a new record for spending on the purchase of used cars, spending 620 billion rubles on them. The previous maximum was recorded in March, when 607 billion rubles were spent on used cars. In April, the amount of expenses decreased slightly to 602 billion rubles, and in May and June it remained below the 600 billion mark. Thus, July became the month when Russians spent the most money on buying used cars.

“The secondary market behaves quite calmly throughout the year, the average cost in the country is gradually returning to the mark of two million rubles for a car no older than 15 years. At the same time, the average age of cars is growing, and this trend will continue for some time until Chinese cars begin to appear on sale more massively. At the moment, their share does not exceed 3%," the expert commented.

A reduction in prices for new cars is unlikely in the near future. Dealers and distributors are now focused on car loan subsidy programs. Perhaps, at the end of the year there will be special offers from some companies seeking to fulfill the sales plan.

The final cost of a car is influenced by several factors, including a possible change in the recycling fee, refinancing rates and inflationary expectations of market players.

“Most car owners are satisfied with the quality of their cars”

In July 2024, the demand for used cars of Chinese brands in Russia increased significantly. Russians purchased 18,241 used Chinese cars, which is by 80% more than in July last year (10,150 units). Chery continues to lead among Chinese brands in the used car market: a quarter of all used Chinese cars sold in July (4,554 units) belong to this brand, which is by 55% more than a year earlier. Geely takes the second place, and Haval rounds out the top three.

“It is premature to talk about the technical condition of Chinese-made cars that have appeared massively on the Russian market over the past couple of years. At the same time, an Avto.ru study conducted this spring showed that most car owners are satisfied with the quality of their cars and have not encountered more malfunctions than car owners from other countries, Ananyev reports.

Is there a scenario where the supply of Chinese cars will exceed the demand for cars in general? If so, how soon can this happen?

“At the moment, Chinese brands occupy more than 60% of the new car segment, so they largely determine the balance of supply and demand in the market," the expert replied.