China's Used Car Sales Surge 37.73% MoM in March 2026, Led by MPVs and Commercial Vehicles

In March 2026, China's used car market recorded a transaction volume of 1.7918 million units, up 37.73% month-over-month and 2.11% year-over-year, with a total transaction value of RMB 117.868 billion. For the first quarter of 2026, cumulative transactions reached 4.822 million units, an increase of 4.66% year-over-year, with a total transaction value of RMB 312.882 billion. By vehicle type, in March: - Basic passenger cars (sedans) accounted for 968,400 units, up 38% month-over-month but down 3.45% year-over-year; - SUVs totaled 236,300 units, up 35.43% month-over-month and 1.36% year-over-year; - MPVs reached 127,300 units, up 38.49% month-over-month and 12.06% year-over-year; - Crossover passenger vehicles amounted to 43,600 units, up 37.52% month-over-month but down 3.22% year-over-year. For commercial vehicles: - Buses totaled 107,200 units, up 36% month-over-month and 8.76% year-over-year; - Trucks reached 153,500 units, up 38.1% month-over-month and 6.64% year-over-year. First-quarter data shows that cumulative MPV transactions reached 339,000 units, up 12.8% year-over-year. Commercial vehicle transactions totaled 700,300 units, up 12.21% year-over-year, with trucks and buses increasing by 13.12% and 10.93%, respectively. Cumulative transactions of basic passenger cars reached 2.6159 million units, down 1.17% year-over-year. Regarding vehicle age distribution in March: - Vehicles aged 3–6 years accounted for 43.13%; - Nearly new vehicles (under 3 years old) represented 29.88%, up 2.29 percentage points year-over-year; - Vehicles aged 7–10 years made up 16.28%; - Vehicles over 10 years old accounted for 10.72%. Regional markets showed broad-based recovery: - Central-South region: 502,300 units, up 33.32% month-over-month; - East China: 499,200 units, up 44.76% month-over-month, with Shanghai doubling its volume month-over-month, and Jiangsu and Fujian rising by 52.3% and 42.4%, respectively; - North China: 276,900 units, up 46.73% month-over-month, with Beijing doubling its volume month-over-month; - Southwest China: 246,300 units, up 27.90% month-over-month; - Northeast China: 163,700 units, up 41.06% month-over-month; - Northwest China: 103,400 units, up 29.84% month-over-month. Inter-regional circulation accelerated further. In March, the inter-provincial transfer rate stood at 32.08%, up 1.41 percentage points month-over-month and 2.57 percentage points year-over-year. The total number of transferred vehicles reached 574,900 units, up 44.04% month-over-month and 10.99% year-over-year.