Luxury brands to push hard in used car market space

As the pandemic continues to pinch customer pockets, luxury and premium car makers like Mercedez Benz, Audi, BMW, MG Motors and others are getting aggressive with their used car platforms. The brands would look to bring in first time buyers but at a lower price point.

According to car marketers, the contribution of the used business is a sizeable 10-15% at present, and companies are now pushing hard for a used-only network expansion spree as well. Also, a large part of the demand in this segment are coming from replacement buyers.

Luxury car makers to double-up used car business

During the pandemic, the used car segment became very vital for Mercedes Benz India, as the company has a trade-in penetration of 10-12%. They typically sell over 2,000 pre-owned cars a year led by markets like Mumbai and Delhi.

The Times of India reported that the company is expecting its pre-owned car business to grow by 50% annually and increase the online penetration to 30% of its total pre-owned business in 2022. Currently, online comprises 20% of pre-owned sales.

BMW which sells between 1,400 and 1,700 units of used vehicles a year, are betting on service packages under its BMW Premium Selection used car vertical. All cars under this platform come with 24 month and 40,000 km warranty, with add-ons like joy rewards scheme offering 14-30% off on service costs and a two year roadside assistance.

Others like MG Motor and Audi India are looking to expand their used car business through dealership extensions and by launching new showrooms for pre-owned cars.