CARS24 Reveals The 'Future Of Mobility' Report, Decodes The Pre-Owned Car Buyer

The automotive industry is a multi-dimensional, multi-billion dollar industry, one that is rife with untapped potential. The used car industry, even more so. We at CARS24 are always on the hunt for opportunities that can help us understand this dynamic industry better. To achieve that, we are relentlessly learning and researching. In the words of Vikram Chopra, Founder and CEO of CARS24, "we strongly believe that the experience of buying a pre-owned vehicle should be as good and seamless as that of a new car, if not better."

Over the course of 6 years since our inception, we have revolutionized the way pre-owned cars are sold and bought in India. We have identified customer struggles, figured out ways to eliminate them, and addressed both buyer and seller side challenges. In our attempt to better understand industry insights, we bring to you our "Future Of Mobility" report that tries to unearth some consumer patterns from the CY 2020-2021. We conducted an in-depth study for used car buyers in the year 2020-21 that highlights multiple intriguing key points. The comprehensive report is a culmination of interesting insights presenting a macro view of the pan-India used car buyer base, their purchasing behaviors, and the evolving trends. 

This one-of-a-kind report is an earnest attempt to own our narrative as the leading customer-centric brand in the pre-owned cars space. Through this report, we take you on a delightful customer journey. As the journey progresses, we also bring you some fascinating consumer insights, in post-Covid India from 2020 to 2021.

Vikram Chopra, Founder and CEO, CARS24

The first edition of CARS24’s report reveals and sheds light on the progressive gender shifts, the rise of upcoming metro markets, growing preference towards pre-owned vehicles, and a cumulative upswing in pre-owned car buyers opting for financing.  Let's look at a few of the key takeaways and highlights.

Access To Financing: Does it Open Doors?

Financing is one of the major obstacles when it comes to purchasing a vehicle. Consumers wish to avail financing while purchasing a pre-owned car, but since it is very difficult to get loans for used cars through traditional methods like banks, most deals fall through and loan penetration is lower. However, as CARS24 provides loans for potential buyers, we have higher loan penetration, showing how this is a lucrative market.

In this report, we uncovered that over 76% of millennials who bought pre-owned cars availed financing services. The pre-owned car buyers took out an average loan size of INR3.5 lacs. Interestingly, with easy options like a 0% down payment on car financing, the loan disbursements in 2022 are expected to increase three-fold.

Wonder(Car) Women

While most of the used-car buyers are men, women buyers have seen exponential growth over the year. Women buyers have grown over 80% in the CY21. Over 10% of the millennials who availed financing for their pre-owned cars were women. Most of these women are buyers are from metropolitan cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Pune.

This is highly impressive, as it emphasizes that "the Indian pre-owned car buyer isn’t restricted by gender, limited by finances or confined to the metros," according to Kunal Mundra, CEO, India, CARS24.

Hatchback vs. Sedan vs. SUV

SUVs registered the most substantial growth across all segments, with a 5x increase in demand. The affordability of pre-owned SUVs drove their demand upwards, indicating immense potential. Ford EcoSport, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Maruti Suzuki Brezza were the top most sold mid-size crossover/SUVs in 2021. However, most used car buyers continue to buy hatchbacks, with hatchbacks securing the top spots in the most selling models in the used-car segment. Maruti Swift, Hyundai i10, and the Grand i10 were the most sold hatchbacks in 2021, while Honda City, Maruti Swift Dzire, and Honda Amaze were the top-selling sedans in 2021.

Demand for pre-owned cars doubled across hatchback, sedan, and luxury segments.

Quality Is King

While factors like trust, technology, website reliability, and honesty and transparency are the key features in a car buying process, most customers have now zeroed in on a single one: the quality of the car. The condition of the car has become the most important factor for used car buyers.

Consumers are now seeking quality cars, without having to skimp and settle. With access to refurbished cars, owing to our Mega Refurbishment Labs, most pre-owned car buyers now prefer refurbished cars over pre-owned ones.

Upcoming Metros Are All About That Pre-Owned Car Life!

According to our data, pre-owned cars are all the rage in upcoming metro cities and towns. 53% demand for used cars was from cities like Ludhiana, Bareilly, and Surat. Even Tier 3 cities such as Zirakpur, Muvattupuzha, Kota, and Ranchi registered strong growth!