Luxury Gas-Powered Used Car Prices Plunge, Some Models Drop Over $1 Million

Recently, luxury internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles have experienced a significant price drop in the used car market. In Changzhou, second-hand luxury ICE vehicles are generally priced about 20% lower than in March, with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class seeing its price fall by RMB 30,000 to 40,000 within just two months. A similar trend is evident at Beijing’s Huaxiang Used Car Market: the 2019 Maserati Ghibli is now listed at RMB 248,000, while the 2015 U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz GL450 4MATIC is selling for as low as RMB 178,000. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), national used car transactions in May totaled 1.6016 million units, down 4.17% month-over-month and 0.15% year-over-year, with a total transaction value of RMB 105.015 billion. From January to May this year, nationwide used car sales reached 8.0948 million units, an increase of 2.30% compared to the same period last year. In May, used cars priced above RMB 300,000 accounted for 2.8% of total transactions, a 0.2-percentage-point decline from April. Luo Lei, Vice President of CADA, noted that steep discounts on new luxury vehicles have significantly squeezed the pricing room for used luxury cars, leaving dealers caught in a losing scenario of “high acquisition costs and low resale prices.” Additionally, domestically produced premium new energy vehicles (NEVs) have demonstrated strong competitiveness in comfort, handling, and safety features, creating a substitution effect that further erodes demand for traditional luxury ICE vehicles.