Used-vehicle sales gather steam behind commercial vehicles, sedans

Demand for used vehicles gained more momentum in October, rising nearly 17 percent to approach 1.48 million. 

It was the highest increase over the past four months, according to figures released this week by the China Automobile Dealers Association.

Robust demand for secondhand commercial vehicles and sedans continued to drive market growth in October. 

Deliveries of used trucks advanced 32 percent to some 138,200, while deliveries of buses grew 15 percent to 126,900.

Used-sedan deliveries surged 22 percent to around 896,100, while secondhand multipurpose-vehicle demand gained 4.9 percent to approximately 82,300. 

But total sales of used SUVs and crossovers dipped 3.1 percent to some 138,300. Deliveries of minibuses also slid, by 0.7 percent to roughly 32,900. 

The association didn’t disclose sales of other types of used vehicles, such as pickups. 

Despite the strong recovery from the coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese used-vehicle market is likely to decline in 2020 for the first time in nearly two decades. 

In the first 10 months, used-vehicle deliveries across the country dropped 6.7 percent to just under 11.1 million, according to the association.