(Yicai) Nov. 18 -- Dealers of used luxury autos in China have been going through tough times because of the rapid decline in the value of such vehicles over recent years. 

"The price of used Porsche Cayenne has really dropped quickly," a car dealer at a market in Beijing told Yicai, adding that a 2024 Cayenne 3.0T with just over 20,000 kilometers on the odometer is selling for only CNY800,000 (USD112,555), while the original owner paid nearly CNY1.2 million (USD168,830) for it new.

A 2022 BMW X7, with a factory price of CNY1 million and around 10,000 km on the odometer, cost only CNY700,000 at the used car maker, Yicai found. In addition, a 2023 Porsche Panamera with around 60,000 km can be bought for about half of its original price.

The rapid depreciation of used luxury cars is primarily due to the significant drop in new car prices, the dealer pointed out. For example, a new 2024 Cayenne 3.0T costs only around CNY900,000, meaning that its value has declined by over CNY300,000 in less than two years, he added.

"Porsche remains the brand with the highest resale value among luxury used cars," a used car dealer in Shanghai said to Yicai. "The price of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, and Maserati, which are more expensive and less common, has depreciated even more.

"Overall, there aren't many cars that retain their value because even new autos are not holding their value, depreciating too quickly, so used vehicles must follow the same trend," according to the Shanghai dealer.

"Due to the transparency of market information, dealers don't dare to overprice used luxury cars," another dealer in Beijing told Yicai. “If they price them even CNY10,000 to CNY20,000 (USD1,405 to USD2,815) higher than others, they won't be able to sell.”

The inventory cycle for used luxury car dealerships is generally one to two months, the dealer said. Even luxury cars in the million Chinese yuan range will be discounted if they have not sold within two months, because "if a car sits unsold for over a month, it could potentially lead to a loss," he stressed.

Compared to traditional fuel used luxury cars, the prices of electric models are more volatile, so dealerships tend to avoid them, a salesperson from a large used luxury auto trading market in Shanghai said to Yicai. “Dealers focusing on used new energy vehicles have been hit quite hard.”

NEVs' brand value is inherently unstable, leading to even greater fluctuations in the used car market, the salesperson pointed out. "Although prices do not change daily, they often need to be adjusted every 10 days to half a month," leading many dealerships to refuse to work in the used electric luxury autos market, the person added.

A Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which was bought for CNY549,000 in March and has less than 10,000 km on the odometer, cost CNY398,000 at a used luxury car trading market in Shanghai's Jiading district on Nov. 11. Just five days later, the price had dropped to CNY385,000.

The price of the used Xiaomi car was slightly above CNY410,000 last month, a salesperson said. “If it doesn't sell, the price will continue to drop. Due to the overwhelming market opinions regarding the performance of Xiaomi autos, dealers are eager to sell them quickly.”

Brand loyalty for NEVs is inherently low, the salesperson noted, adding that such cars sell strongly when there is market visibility, but suffer when controversies arise. While the prices of new vehicles sold directly by dealerships can remain stable, controlling the prices of used ones becomes challenging, he added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev