As new cars get pricier, pre-owned BMWs, Audis and Porsches get more attractive

• The demand for pre-owned luxury cars rose on OLX Autos as new cars became costlier in 2022.
• Pre-owned BMW witnessed the highest demand on the used car platform, followed by Mercedes Benz and Audi.
• However, even pre-owned luxury cars witnessed an increase in their prices as sellers now try to leverage the pent up demand.

Customers are showing a growing preference for pre-owned BMW luxury cars as rising input costs and inflationary pressures make buying a new car an expensive proposition. A report by OLX Autos noted that the demand for pre-owned luxury cars witnessed a sharp increase in the first half of 2022, with BMW being the top favourite.

It was followed by Mercedes Benz, Audi, Jaguar and Porsche in that order.

OLX Autos, in its report, said that the supply of luxury cars across Tier 1 cities recorded an annual growth of 40% on its used-car platform. The Tier II cities witnessed a growth of 45% in the same time frame. The company arrived at the conclusion after analysing over 50,000 luxury car listings made on the platform in the January to June period.

“With discretionary spending back to pre-covid levels and an increase in disposable incomes, we are seeing a noticeable change in the aspirations of consumers to upgrade to luxury car brands. Pre-owned luxury car market has particularly benefited from this sentiment as well as from the long waiting period, and increase in prices of new vehicles,” Amit Kumar, CEO of OLX Group India, said in a statement.

OLX is not alone in benefitting from this trend. Its competitor Spinny had also witnessed high demand for Mercedes C class, BMW 3 series and Audi Q3 on its newly launched luxury car portal in the second quarter of 2022.

However, just like brand new cars, pre-owned luxury cars also witnessed an increase in their prices from a year earlier.

The average listing price of Mercedes Benz shot up by 25%, followed by Porsche that saw a 13% rise. Prices for BMW spiked 11% from a year ago, while Audi and Jaguar registered a 6% and 2.6 % rise respectively.

In Tier 2 cities, on the other hand, the price of Jaguar and Porsche fell by 8% and 18%, respectively.
Source: OLX Auto

Despite the increase in price across brands, Kumar said that the demand pattern on the OLX platform suggested that owning a high-end car at a discounted rate was a “lucrative” alternative for customers who were willing to buy a vehicle in this highly inflated market.

It is important to note that carmakers like Maruti Suzuki, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi India, Kia, Tata Motors, MG Motor, Hyundai and Toyota, to name a few, have already increased the price of their cars in India due to limited supply of parts in the market. Also, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has also increased the procurement cost of car components.

The price hikes for the new cars came into effect on April 1, 2022.

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