Luxury Gas-Powered Used Car Prices Drop Sharply as Market Share Shrinks

Recently, prices of luxury internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the used-car market have declined significantly. In the Changzhou area, prices for second-hand luxury ICE vehicles have generally dropped by around 20% compared to March levels, with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class losing RMB 30,000–40,000 in value over 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 U.S.-spec 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL450 4MATIC is priced as low as RMB 178,000. According to data released by the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), nationwide used-car sales reached 1.6016 million units in May, 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, cumulative used-car transactions nationwide totaled 8.0948 million units, an increase of 2.30% year-over-year. In May, vehicles priced above RMB 300,000 accounted for 2.8% of total transactions, a 0.2-percentage-point decline from April. Analysts note that steep price cuts on new luxury vehicles have squeezed profit margins in the used-car segment, leaving dealers caught in a difficult situation of “high acquisition costs but low resale prices,” often resulting in losses. Meanwhile, domestically produced premium new energy vehicles (NEVs) have demonstrated strong competitiveness in comfort, handling, and safety features, increasingly substituting traditional luxury ICE vehicles and further dampening market demand for them.