Used vehicles market shrinks in first quarter of 2025
ISTANBUL
In the first quarter, the second-hand car market contracted by 3.4 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, with sales at 1.63 units.
During the same period, the total second-hand vehicle market, including motorcycles, minibuses, buses and other vehicles, also shrank by 3.97 percent to 2.4 million units.
In March, the used car market shrank by 4.37 percent annually to 555,093 units. But this pointed to a recovery from the previous two months. Sales in the used car market amounted to 551,610 units in January and 520,697 units in February.
Automotive distributors launched campaigns for new vehicles in the first quarter of the year to deplete vehicles in their inventories.
The ongoing high consumer demand, driven by concerns that promotions in the new vehicle market and prices would increase, led to a contraction in the second-hand car market, according to experts.
In addition to the promotion campaigns launched in the new car market, the contraction in the used hand car market is also due to the fact that the listing prices of 1- to 3-year-old used cars are still higher than expected.
Some vehicles are still being listed at the same price as new models or only slightly lower.
In the first quarter of 2025, combined sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles declined by 6.5 percent year-on-year to 276,284 units.
Passenger car sales in the January-March period declined by 4.1 percent annually to 223,793 units, according to data from the Automotive Distributors’ and Mobility Association (ODMD).
