Used car market buzzing with activity

The Indian car market is in great shape and this is also true for the used car market that has started attracting big players. The latest to join the gang of carmakers providing used cars are luxury car manufacturers Mercedes Benz and BMW. The reason of this sudden inclination towards pre owned cars is the growth shown by the market. The used car market is estimated as growing at 15-18 per cent per annum.

The estimated size of the used car market in the country comes to 1.1 times the new car market. It is important to note that the mainstream car market posted the sales of 15 lakh units last fiscal. Carmakers are coming up with newer technologies to lure more and more buyers. Many new models are being launched across categories along with time to time upgrades in engines and other features. These reasons teamed with a higher disposable income have made the customers change cars often. The used cars make it to market in good condition. After some quality checks and tests the used cars are street ready once again.

Reports point out towards a certain trend that is building up suggesting that people like to upgrade or exchange their used car within three years of their purchase. The old notion of having the same car for 10-15 years is long gone. The Indian lifestyle is changing and the car penetration is going to go up. With numerous OEMs entering used car market the future of this industry looks bright.

Toyota Kirloskar, Honda Siel, Hyundai Motors and General Motors India also have their used car businesses in the country. These carmakers have been adding on to their existing line up.

As per reports in a business daily, Toyota Kirloskar might sell 25-30 per cent of its compact car Toyota Etios through its used car outlets. Used car stores like Toyota You Trust, GM and Hyundai are aggressively pushing their existing models through their pre-owned car outlets. TKM’s Deputy Managing Director Sandeep Singh was quoted saying, “We now have five outlets of Toyota You Trust. Within the next three years, we plan to have 50 outlets. Our aim is to sell 25 per cent of our new cars through Toyota You Trust. We are already selling Toyota Innova and Toyota Altis through the used car exchange programme. We are expanding our used car outlet footprint, keeping in mind the launch of our compact car, Etios, next year. Toyota You Trust will be one of the major avenues for selling Etios.