1.08 million second-hand vehicles traded hands in China this past quarter, Auto Weekly reported on May 7. The figure was announced by the China Automobile Dealers Association at a research summit on the automobile market's performance in April held by Chinese market analysis firm Sinotrust last week. According to the CADA's calculations, the volume of the Chinese used car market was 24.67 percent greater last quarter than it was in the first quarter of 2011. The total value of transactions in the market was 53.89 billion yuan ($8.58b), growing 44.17 percent from the previous year.
Sedans remained the most popular used car choice in the quarter, with a total of 597,900 units being traded, growing 27.6 percent from 2011. Sales of used buses, trucks and SUVs totaled 182,700, 164,100 and 18,800 units, increasing 30.81 percent, 17.12 percent and 33.95 percent from last year, respectively. CADA figures show that a total of 480,700 second-hand vehicles were traded in March alone, growing 37.35 percent from the previous month. Total used car sales in the month were valued at 24.73 billion yuan ($3.94b), 44.75 percent more than February's result.
Growth in the used car market has in part been triggered by the implementation of new policies aimed at reducing traffic congestion and the phasing out of subsidies for buying new vehicles. Beijing is a model example, with a total of 147,300 used vehicles being traded in the city last quarter, over triple the amount traded in the first quarter of 2011. 53,900 used vehicles traded hands in March in the city, 16.9 percent and 192.9 percent higher than February and last March's figures. Beijing's used car market was among China's five largest last quarter, ranking alongside Guangdong, Shanxi, Sichuan and Shanghai.
