K Car "Used Car Prices Hit Bottom"... Steady Prices for Grandeur and Palisade

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Used car prices, which had been declining recently, are expected to hit bottom and turn upward. Price stability has been observed mainly in popular used car models such as the Grandeur IG and Palisade.

On the 3rd, direct used car platform company K Car analyzed the average market prices of about 740 used cars released within the last 12 years. As of February this year, the average market prices of domestic and imported used cars over the past three months fell by 2.7% and 2.9%, respectively. These figures are lower than the 3.1% drop for domestic cars and 4.7% drop for imported cars recorded in January.

Due to the nature of used cars, where depreciation is reflected by the model year, prices generally follow a downward curve annually even for vehicles with the same conditions. Over the past two years, there have been sharp fluctuations caused by delays in new car deliveries due to the semiconductor supply shortage and consecutive interest rate hikes. In normal circumstances without external influences, the monthly depreciation rate is around 1.5%.

Representative Domestic Car Models by Class February Market Prices (Unit: 10,000 KRW) [Data=K Car]

In particular, the price decline of popular models in the used car market has slowed. Domestic bestsellers such as Hyundai Grandeur IG (0%), Genesis G80 (-0.1%), Hyundai Palisade (-0.1%), and Kia Sorento 4th generation (-0.6%) recorded price changes around 0%. Popular imported models such as Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 (0%), E-Class W213 (0%), BMW X3 F25 (0%), and X5 F15 (0%) also showed firm price stability.

On the other hand, vehicles that declined in price did so due to discounts following facelift or full-change model releases. The Hyundai Kona (-4.6%), which recently had a full model change, experienced the largest drop among domestic models. It was followed by Hyundai Avante AD (-3.9%) and Kia All New Carnival (-3.3%). Among imported cars, the BMW 5 Series F10 (-5.1%) saw the largest decrease.

Jo Eunhyung, an analyst at K Car PM1 team, said, "The market, which had been enduring the decline in used car prices, is expected to show price stability as it anticipates the peak season in February and March." He added, "Consumers who have already judged this as the right time to purchase used cars are moving, increasing the turnover rate of key models."