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You need a car like this yourself: in St. Petersburg, the period of car ownership has increased due to high prices
The number of re-registrations of relatively new cars (1-3 years) in St. Petersburg has decreased by 34% over the past 9 months. It has dropped from more than 12.2 thousand units last year to almost 8 thousand units this year. Accordingly, the share of new used cars in the city's overall car market has decreased from 9% to 6% since the beginning of the year. The most popular brand of passenger cars in this segment was the Russian Lada (956 units), followed by the Chinese Haval (871 units) and Geely (797 units). The domestic car brand Kia (554) took 4th place in popularity, Chery - 5th.
In St. Petersburg, resales of used passenger cars have decreased since the beginning of the year in almost all segments of the auto market, but in some segments not so much. Thus, over nine months, the number of re-registrations of cars aged 4-5 years in the city fell by 12% to 20,000 cars, and cars aged 6-9 years fell by 6% to 277,000 cars. In both of these segments, the main brands are the same: Kia, BMW and Hyundai. As a result, the segment of cars for children aged 10-12 years in St. Petersburg has decreased by 28% since January, reaching 16.7 million units.
In the Northwestern Federal District, the aging of vehicles is more noticeable. Cars older than 12 years already account for 55% of the total number of re-registrations (compared to 51% in January-September 2023). In the Northwest, unlike St. Petersburg, demand for cars aged 4-5 years is growing. The number of resales increased by 36% to 60,700 units. One of the reasons is higher prices for "fresher" cars. They trust analysts.
All Russian trends are the same. Thus, from January to August, the largest share of resales on the domestic secondary market (60% of the total volume) was for cars older than 12 years. In the 10-12 years segment, the share dropped to 13%. Resales of used cars 4-5 years old are also decreasing. Over eight months, 274.4 thousand such vehicles were re-registered. This is 28% less than in the same period last year. As a result, the share of these cars in the secondary market structure dropped from 9% to 7%.
A similar situation has developed in the segment of cars up to 3 years old: the number of re-registrations has decreased by 25% to 141.3 thousand cars. "The percentage of re-registrations has decreased in the segment of cars aged 1-3 years. In general, what falls under the warranty period, "because many people increase the period of car ownership and keep the car in the same hands for a longer period," confirms Tatyana Akimova, Managing Director of the company "Avtomarketer".
Analysts should note that the re-registration of used cars aged 6-9 years in Russia increased by 9% to 737.5 thousand units, as a result of which their share in the secondary car market structure increased by 3%. The scores are 18%. "The period of car ownership has recently increased to five to six years. This trend has developed primarily due to the growth in prices for new cars," says Alexey Bocharnikov, head of the VTB auto lending department. He added that since cars are becoming more expensive, car owners are no longer ready to part with their vehicles so quickly.
Meanwhile, such a significant growth is explained by the low base of last year, when the market felt a shortage of new passenger cars. On the other hand, the number of loans issued in the first eight months of this year can also be called a record. This is 1.11 million, which is 87.5% more than in the same period last year.
From January to September, Russian banks and microfinance organizations approved only 18% of applications for auto loans. Alexey Volkov, Marketing Director of the National Bureau of Credit Histories, confirmed the high level of demand for auto loans. “However, as the monetary policy of central banks tightens, banks and other specialized auto loan lenders reduce their risk appetite, focusing on borrowers with higher credit ratings, and this uniform approach to credit risk management can lead to significant differences in credit risk levels. Receive . Loan applications were approved in a number of regions of Russia,” he says.
However, even under these circumstances, it can be said that this year has been much more successful in the automobile business than the previous one. Thus, according to estimates by the Automobile Manufacturers Committee of the Association of European Enterprises (AEB), the total sales of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia increased by 58% in nine months, reaching more than 1.2 million units. "This is mainly due to the change in recycling fee rates and the expected price increase following the increase in the key rate," said the chairman of the committee, Alexey Kalitsev. According to the AEB, sales in the third quarter did not exceed the figures for the second quarter. This may mean that the market potential has reached its limit.