Sales of used luxury import cars up 10% in 2023 amid high demand

Porsche Cayenne [Courtesy of Porsche]

The popularity of luxury cars priced over 100 million won ($75,000) in the used car market in South Korea has been steadily increasing, with sales rising by 10 percent last year from a year ago.

Encar.com, a used car trading platform, said on Monday that the number of registered luxury used cars priced over 100 million won increased by about 5 percent, and the sales volume rose by 10 percent compared to 2022

Despite a total of around 1.2 million used cars being listed on the platform last year, there was minimal change in the registration and sales figures for all used cars on the site compared to the previous year, the platform said.

While the site’s specific registration and sales figures were not disclosed due to business confidentiality, the percentage increase highlighted the growing trend of high-end vehicle popularity in the local used car market.

Transactions involving high-end used cars are primarily driven by individual private transactions. Analyzing data from the platform’s self-registration service, the models with the highest transaction volume among imported cars priced over 100 million won included the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, G-Class, CLS-Class, Porsche Cayenne, and 718 Boxster.

Among imported used cars priced over 100 million won, the model that saw the highest increase in transaction volume was the Porsche Cayenne.

Encar.com said that the sales volume of Cayenne traded through its own platform increased by about 30 percent compared to 2022, and it surged by 155 percent compared to 2021.

Reflecting its popularity, the Cayenne in the used car market boasts a high price retention rate. The 2021 model Cayenne 3.0 gasoline model, with a new car selling price starting at 111.2 million won, currently has an average market price of 109.9 million won, resulting in a residual value rate of 90.8 percent.

Typically, after three years, the residual value rate for imported cars drops to 70-80 percent, but the Cayenne maintains a rate over 10 percentage points higher.

Even after five years, the 2019 model Cayenne records a residual value rate of around 79 percent, compared to the usual 50-60 percent for imported cars.

Expanding the view beyond Encar.com to the entire used car market reveals the palpable popularity of luxury used cars.

According to the CarIsYou Data Research Center, the actual transaction volume of domestic used cars increased by 1.8 percent to 1.95 million units in the past year compared to 2022. During the same period, the transaction volume of the Porsche Cayenne increased by 22.3 percent, from 2,398 units to 2,933 units, including those priced below 100 million won.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class also saw an increase of 12.3 percent to 751 units. Last year, 13,516 units of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class were traded in the used car market, up 4.8 percent over the past year.