The booming Pre-Owned car market in India

Over the last few years, observing the behavioural evolution of the Indian car market has led me to a revelation. Long gone are the days, when a ‘second hand’ car evoked frowns and derision. This new-age India has always been confident about its wants, needs, desires, and aspirations. Especially when it comes to cars. And it has embraced the fastest, most economical pathway to it – pre-owned cars!

For India, the journey has been long. From a highly disorganised ‘second-hand’ car market of the yesteryears to an organised and booming pre-owned car industry in 2022, the Indian car buyer has evolved and embraced a pre-dominantly western behavior. The recent figures speak volumes of this dynamic category shift.

?The growth of the pre-owned market in India is set to reach a whopping 10% CAGR by the year 2024, according to reports and estimates by relevant industry bodies. The trend over the last few years has witnessed interest across brands. The sector recorded an astounding 4.4 million used car sales in FY2020. If you thought that was incredible, wait till you read the next bit. Nearly 70 lakh used vehicles were recorded?in FY20-21.

As a curious industry veteran, I could not help but take a deep dive into this phenomenon and it helped me unearth a few factors that contributed to this massive growth. The era of the internet led to a globalisation of aspirations. A 25-year-old youngster working in Jaipur has the same notions of ‘cool’ as a 25-year-old youngster from New York. He too refuses to settle for the traditional first cars in India, which for decades happened to be entry-level hatchbacks.?

Besides this, a host of social developments in the past two years has led to a budding ecosystem for pre-owned car buyers. There was a halt on public transport during the pandemic, it was also deemed unsafe. There was a marked rise in the ease of purchase with more streamlined paper-work processes and loans as organised players like OEMs and relatively smaller aggregator brands made in-roads into this fast-growing market.

Moreover, smaller start-up brands have unquestionably helped generate interest in the sector and brought a certain legitimacy. However, it is the advent of the larger OEMs that is completely changing the dynamics of the Pre-Owned industry. The rules are being rewritten as evaluation procedures get standardised, made transparent, and trustworthy. Even the buying experience and the consumer journey have been re-engineered to maximise the efficiency and convenience of the buyer.

?As a leading name in the Indian experiential car segment, ?KODA too has set its sights on this exciting new prospect in the Indian car market. With a sharp focus on increasing presence in the pre-owned ecosystem, we are nurturing a robust channel network that will be advantageous both to the buyer and the seller, creating a community united by a love for cars.

As of today, ?KODA AUTO India is present with the used car business, CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED, at over 100 dealerships. We currently have a bouquet of reliable, customised, high-value options for both used-car buyers and sellers. Besides this, we also have a 115 points-based Vehicle Evaluation to ensure the high-quality standards of ?KODA AUTO India are met, creating a delightful ownership experience. Owners who want to sell their cars to upgrade can do it hassle-free at a click of a button and get an exchange bonus. Buyers get the trust and quality that only an OEM can offer.

?While we have already delivered more than 2,500 used cars through our ‘CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED’ network, we look forward to the exciting challenge of further shaping our infrastructure to meet the evolving desires of the Indian customer.