Used Compact Car Market Also Rapidly Growing, Expected to Accelerate with Casper

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Encar.com, a car trading platform, announced on the 9th that the used compact car market has shown growth over the past three years, with increasing popularity of nearly new used compact cars, based on big data analysis of major compact car listings.

Encar.com forecasted continued growth in the compact car market as Hyundai Motor Company's compact SUV Casper achieved a record by selling out this year's supply on the first day of pre-orders, setting an all-time high for Hyundai's internal combustion engine vehicles.

Compact cars are popular not only as entry-level cars preferred by beginner drivers and second cars for families but also maintain steady demand as commercial vehicles, characterized by high turnover rates and strong price retention.

The number of new compact car listings on the Encar.com platform grew by 13% in 2020 compared to the previous year, and steady registration trends have continued from January to September this year.

In particular, despite competition from popular models like the Grandeur, All New Carnival, and E-Class in Encar.com's monthly popular model rankings, the Ray consistently ranks within the top 10 with an average monthly listing of 500 to 550 units, and the Morning maintains popularity with 400 to 500 units listed monthly.

The popularity of nearly new used cars is also high. Analyzing the market prices of major compact car models from 2020 with no accidents and mileage under 20,000 km, the current price of The New Ray Signature is 15.04 million KRW, and the Prestige trim is 13.87 million KRW. Both trims show only a 600,000 to 800,000 KRW difference compared to new car prices, considering option costs.

For the Morning Urban, the Signature trim is priced at 13.41 million KRW, and the Prestige trim at 11.39 million KRW, with these trims also showing a price difference of about 1.4 to 2.1 million KRW compared to new car prices. The Chevrolet The New Spark forms a market price of 10.72 million KRW for the Premier and 9.6 million KRW for the LT trim.

Due to high demand, these models maintain an average residual value of 88%, indicating low depreciation rates. The New Ray Signature has a residual value of 95.08%, Morning Urban Signature 90.61%, and The New Spark Premier 84.14%.

An Encar.com official stated, “For the Ray, which continues to show sales growth in the new car market, the recent waiting period for delivery has increased consumer interest in nearly new used cars,” adding, “With the launch of Casper, expected to expand the compact car market share, the used compact car market is also anticipated to grow further.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.