Used Car Market in 1Q 2026, 'Eco-friendly, SUV, 20s' Lead... Overall deal down 3.4%

*This content was translated by AI.

In the first quarter of 2026, the domestic used car market showed a clear change in the transition to eco-friendly cars and an explosion in demand for certain age groups despite the decline in transactions due to the overall economic slowdown. According to the analysis data of the used car registration data in the first quarter of 2026, the total number of used cars in the first quarter of this year was 561,088, down 3.4% from the same period last year (580,859).

show a rise in January on a monthly basis It fell temporarily in February, but recovered to the 200,000 mark in March, laying the foundation for a rebound.Data by type clearly show the generational shift in the used car market. Traditional internal combustion engine models such as gasoline (-3.8 percent), diesel (-10.3 percent), and LPG (-11.8 percent) decreased, while hybrid vehicles grew 22.6 percent and electric vehicles 48.7 percent.

In particular, among imported car brands, Tesla recorded 2,905 actual transactions, up 54.3% year-on-year, driving the growth of the eco-friendly used car market.By brand and model, Kia and Mercedes continued to strengthen. In the domestic car market, Kia Morning (TA) topped the list with 11,165 units, followed by Chevrolet Spark and Hyundai Grandeur (HG). In the imported car market, the 5th generation of Mercedes-Benz E-Class remained at the top with 5,256 units, while the 7th generation and 6th generation of BMW 5 Series ranked at the top. Genesis, a local premium brand, grew 8.4 percent year-on-year, proving demand for luxury used cars.

In terms of buyer characteristics, the rapid progress of people in their 20s is the most noticeable. In contrast to the decline in transactions in most age groups, the number of actual transactions among buyers in their 20s surged 36.9% year-on-year, emerging as a new core consumer group. By gender, men recorded 320,297 units and women recorded 124,817 units, which still had a high proportion of male purchases.By vehicle appearance, SUVs that value practicality grew 3.4%, contrasting with the decline in sedans (-6.5%) and hatchbacks (-10.0%). With the spread of leisure and car camping culture, preference for vehicles with high space utilization, such as SUVs and wagons, is believed to continue.

An industry official analyzed, "There are various reasons for the decrease in overall trading volume, including interest rates, but the reason why the increase in electric vehicles is noticeable is that high oil prices must have played a big part." "In particular, high interest rates and high oil prices are expected to remain for the time being, so the current trend will continue for the time being," he added.

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*This content was translated by AI.