The Zhitong Finance App learned that in August 2026, the China Automobile Dealers Association published an article stating that in August 2026, the national used car market traded 1,516,300 vehicles, down 2.90% from the previous month, down 11.19% from the previous year, and the transaction amount was 96.972 billion yuan. From January to August 2026, the cumulative transaction volume of used cars was 127.911 million units, down 1.14% year on year. Compared with the same period, it decreased by 147,300 units, and the cumulative transaction amount was 839.972 billion yuan.
Analysis of the structure of used cars by model in August 2026
Passenger car situation: In August, 808,500 basic passenger cars were traded, down 3.06% from the previous year, down 15.16%; the total number of SUVs traded was 197,800 units, down 2.96% from the previous month, down 12.07% year on year; the total number of MPVs traded, down 3.53% from the previous year, down 5.05% year on year; and 37,200 passenger cars were traded, down 1.23% month on month, down 11.52% year on year.
Commercial vehicle situation: A total of 90,500 buses were traded, down 4.07% from the previous month, down 4.89% from the previous year; 128,800 trucks, down 1.52% from the previous month and 14.0% from the previous year.
In January-August, a total of 9.7894 million passenger cars were traded, a year-on-year decrease of 3.97%. Among them: 6.885,500 basic passenger cars were traded, down 5.79% year on year; total SUV sales were 1.681 million units, down 1.28% year on year; total MPVs were 9076 million units, up 6.87% year on year; and 308,200 passenger cars were sold, down 5.48% year on year.
A total of 1,849,600 commercial vehicles were traded, an increase of 1.24% over the previous year. Among them: 1.086,900 trucks were traded, down 0.83% year on year; 762,700 buses were traded, up 4.35% year on year.
Analysis of the useful life of used car trading vehicles in August 2026
In August, used cars with a lifespan of 3-6 years accounted for the largest share of transactions, accounting for 45.7%, up 0.6 percentage points from month to month, up 3.4 percentage points; models within 3 years of use accounted for 31.9%, up 0.2 percentage points from month to month, up 6.0 percentage points from year to year; models aged 7-10 years accounted for 13.9%, down 0.5 percentage points from month to month, down 4.8 percentage points from year to year; models over 10 years old accounted for 8.5%, down 0.2 percentage points from month to month, down 4.6 percentage points year on year.
Used car transactions in the six major regions in August 2026
In August 2026, the national used car market continued its overall correction trend. Most of the six major regions saw a month-on-month decline in transaction volume. The market showed a pattern of general decline and slight increase in only a few regions. The trading volume in the core region remained high, but the month-on-month trend was divided: the decline in East China and Northwest China was relatively moderate, and the decline in Central South China and North China widened; only the southwest achieved slight positive growth, and Northeast China changed from flat in the previous period to a marked decline. The overall national market continued to be under pressure, and the total transaction volume continued to shrink compared to the previous month.
The volume of used car transactions in East China was 431,100 units, down 1.47% from the previous month. The trading volume still ranks first in the country, and the leading position in the region is stable. The pullback continued this month, but the decline was significantly narrower than the previous month. The pullback was less than the national average, and the contraction trend in the previous period eased somewhat.
The volume of used car transactions in the central and southern regions was 419,700 units, down 3.75% from the previous month, and remained the second largest in the country in terms of transaction volume. The decline continued this month, and the decline was wider than the previous month. The correction was higher than the national average. Demand continued to weaken, and the trading volume gap with East China widened slightly.
The volume of used car transactions in North China was 231,500 units, down 5.73% from the previous month, ranking third in the country. This month's decline was significantly higher than the previous month, significantly higher than the national average. Market adjustment pressure was prominent, and the phased contraction in transaction scale was quite obvious.
The volume of used car transactions in the southwest region was 207,300 units, up 0.62% month-on-month. It is the only sector in the six major regions to achieve positive month-on-month growth. This month, there was a slight increase from an earlier pullback. The transaction scale continued to rank fourth in the country. There are signs of stabilization, showing some resilience in the national general decline pattern.
The volume of used car transactions in the Northeast region was 135,400 units, down 5.94% from the previous month. The decline was the largest in the six major regions. This month changed from a slight increase in holdings last month to a clear decline. The pattern of anti-fluctuation resistance in the early stages was broken, and the characteristics of the phased weakening of the market were prominent, and trading volume still ranked fifth in the country.
The volume of used car transactions in the Northwest China region was 9.14 million units, down 1.26% from the previous month. The decline was relatively small. Affected by the small size of the base, the fluctuation was limited, and the overall operation remained relatively stable.
Cross-regional circulation situation in August 2026
In August, the used car transfer rate was 30.80%, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, and basically the same as the same period last year. The total number of used car transfers was 467 million, down 6.15% from the previous month and 11.3% from the same period last year.