The Zhitong Finance App learned that the China Automobile Dealers Association released a new edition of the “China Used Car Managers Index” (UCMI). According to the survey, the used car managers' index in July was 40.1%, down 1.6 percentage points year on year and 3.4 percentage points month on month. This is a marked decline from the previous month. The overall used car market is still in a slump.
Used Car Managers Index for July
Judging from the trend of the used car managers' index, the used car managers' index showed seasonal fluctuations of “stabilizing first, then falling” in the first half of 2026, and never broke through the boom and dry line. Squeezing new car prices and weak demand were the core factors in the industry's sluggish boom.
From an industry perspective, the penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles has surpassed 60% in 2026, forming a structural reset of the used car market. In terms of new energy used cars, the transaction volume maintained a high year-on-year growth rate of 25% or more, which significantly outperformed the industry market. Looking at the fact that the number of second-hand fuel vehicle successors continued to narrow. Demand for large displacement and old models shrank at an accelerated pace, which was the core drag on the fuel vehicle industry's downward transaction volume. Demand pressure was fully transmitted to the entire used car side along the replacement chain.
According to the survey, demand in the used car market declined in July, with 21.6% indicating a “decrease” in market demand.
In the first half of the year, nodes such as the May Day holiday, the 618 big promotion, and the spring regional auto show have already concentrated on releasing current demand for car purchases and replacements. In July, there were no major consumption stimulus points or statutory long vacations. Purchasing power entered an objective phased recuperation period, and the scale of demand naturally declined.
Used car market demand in July
According to the survey, the volume of transactions in the used car market declined in July. Among them, the percentage of managers who think the volume of used car transactions has “declined” this month is 15.3%;
The decline in used car sales in July was mainly driven by common off-season factors in the same period of the previous year. Hot weather suppressed offline trading activity, and combined with half a year of promotion points being overdrawn, a phased demand gap formed.
Used car sales volume in July
According to the survey, the purchase price of used cars remained basically flat in July, and sales prices fell from the previous month. Among them, the proportion of used car managers who thought the purchase price was “flat” was 92.7%; the proportion of used car managers who thought the sales price was “reduced” was 17.7%.
Currently, the used car market as a whole is in a downward price channel. Price reductions in new car terminals form an inversion of prices, compounded by weak demand in the off-season and abundant supply of vehicles in the market, driving used car sales prices to drop simultaneously.
Used car trading prices in July
According to the survey, the inventory volume of used car dealers remained flat in July, and inventory turnover time increased month-on-month. Among them, the proportion of managers who think the inventory volume is “flat” is 92.1%; the proportion of managers who think that inventory turnaround time is “increased” is 32.6%;
This phenomenon shows that demand for used car terminals was weak in July, the pace of transactions slowed down, the sales scale of car dealers was basically flat, and the speed of vehicle circulation declined, leading to a lengthening of inventory turnover time.
Used car inventory status in July
Research data shows that in July, 22.5% of used car managers thought their business conditions were at a “bad” level. The pressure on used car dealers to operate increased, and the proportion of poor business conditions increased month-on-month;
Among the used car managers surveyed, 70% believed that working capital had dropped by more than 10%, while 30% of managers believed that the capital turnover in August was basically the same as in July.
Used car business conditions in July
Overall, the first half of the year relied on the Spring Auto Show, May Day holiday sales, and the 618 e-commerce promotion. After entering July, combined with hot and rainy seasonal off-season climate factors, the overall used car market showed a trend of weakening in transaction volume and transaction prices at the same time. The inventory turnover efficiency of car dealers slowed markedly, and the operating pressure on industry dealers further intensified.
Referring to expectations for next month, used car managers surveyed said that August is still in the off-season summer cycle, and high temperatures are still suppressing offline car-watching transactions, and terminal passenger traffic and volume will drop further. It is predicted that demand will improve marginally only when the end of the month approaches “Golden Nine and Silver Ten”. Currently, they are still maintaining operations using the “control car collection and inventory removal” strategy in exchange for volume, and strive to get through the off-season smoothly. The expected index was 43.5%, and the sentiment improved compared to July.