Mileage Remains The Top Citeria For Indian Car Buyers: Cars24 Report

The year 2022, proved to be an interesting year for the automobile sector with an increased inclination amongst Indians towards purchasing and selling pre-owned cars. 

The last quarter of the year, especially, saw a growth in demand for used cars. Cars24, India’s e-commerce player for pre-owned vehicles, recorded 75 per cent jump in the sale of pre-owned cars in the Oct-Dec quarter (Q4) from the Jan-March quarter (Q1). 

Commenting on the recent trends, Gajendra Jangid, Co-founder, Cars24 said "2022 was a fantastic year with trends that will shape the industry in the future. We look forward to driving the wheels with our customers and changing the way India shops for cars."

With people willing to spend a higher amount on cars without compromising on their choices, safety or quality, the e-commerce player also noted a 30 per cent increase in the average buying budget during the year.

Cars24 has shared a pan India Mileage report 2022 highlighting key trends and the changing criteria for purchasing cars that will define the country’s car buying behaviour in 2023 as well.

Key Highlights

> More Millennials shopped for cars in 2022, majority buyers under 35 years

> Indians sold cars worth thousands of crores last year

> Maruti the most popular car brand of the year, 1 in 3 buyers bought a Maruti ca

> 30 percent increase in the average car buying budget

> Tier II and beyond markets record an increase in the sale of pre-owned vehicles

Mileage remains the top criteria for the Indian car buyer. While there has been a shift towards the premiumisation of cars, mileage continues to be the most important factor for an individual while purchasing a vehicle. In fact, last year, every 2 minutes, users enquired about the mileage and the average of various cars with different fuel choices.

However, interestingly, it was not the only important factor. Premium features like airbags, driver assist systems, autoplay music systems, giant screens, camera controls, sunroofs, etc when making a purchase decision became immensely popular with people willing to spend more for them. These features will also be considered important while buying a car in 2023 and drive sales. There was a surge in people buying cars in different colours such as red, black and blue beyond the traditional white/grey.

Maruti was LUV but other brands were not far behind. In 2022 as well, Maruti continued leading the race for the most popular car brand in India with every 1 in 3 buyers purchasing a Maruti car in 2022. The maximum Maruti cars were bought in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad followed by Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune and Ahmedabad. Hatchbacks such as Swift, Baleno, Alto, WagonR and Celerio were the most sold Maruti cars in 2022 while the sale of mini SUVs such as Vitara Brezza picked up. Maruti was followed by Hyundai, Honda and Renault and Ford however, the sale of younger brands such as Kia picked up in the last quarter of the year. 

Even though Ford has stopped producing cars, it continues to be a top choice amongst Indians while purchasing a pre-owned car.

India wanted its cars to be financed in 2022 ; More millennials bought their first car. According to the data shared by Cars24, more Indians preferred getting their cars financed in 2022. Maximum cars were financed for users in cities like Hyderabad, Lucknow and Kolkata. 

The highest loan was taken for Rs. 25 lakh by a user in Delhi. While financing, Indians preferred the tenure of 6 years as it gives more flexibility to pay and decreases the payment burden. The average EMI amount in 2022 was Rs. 11500, and the majority of loans were taken by salaried professionals. This year also recorded more millennials buying a car with a majority of buyers under 35 years old.

Pune and Ahmedabad witnessed most car deliveries in the Tier II cities in 2022. The sale of pre-owned cars picked up pace in tier II markets with Pune and Ahmedabad recording maximum car deliveries. Baleno was the most popular car in both cities. A user in Pune, in fact, bought a car worth Rs. 33 lakhs (A Mercedes C Class)

Cities such as Jaipur, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Coimbatore have also been catching up in the race of which city will buy the most cars this year with cars already being added to the cart in the first week of 2023 itself. While all other cities bought hatchbacks, Lucknow recorded the maximum sale of Mini SUV- Vitara Brezza

Amongst metro cities, Bengaluru purchased the maximum cars in 2022 followed by Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai. Swifting through the heavy traffic with its smaller size and great speed, Maruti’s Swift was the most popular car in Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai while Mumbai shopped for WagonR and Hyderabad fell in love with Hyundai Grandi10.

The year of buying and selling more cars. Another interesting trend revealed in Cars24’s Mileage Report suggests a whopping 81 per cent YoY surge in the number of people buying more than 1 car in a year. Not only did people shop for more cars, but the year also witnessed an all-time high in people selling more than 1 car this year with the maximum number of sellers from New Delhi. Indians in fact sold cars worth thousands of crores in 2022 alone.

Few other highlights

> Majority car buyers under 35

> Average car buying has increased to Rs. 6 lac 

> More buyers got their cars financed in 2022

> Hot Selling colours beyond white and grey were red & black

> Maximum sedans were bought in Bengaluru 

> Most car sellers were from New Delhi 

> Most expensive car bought in Pune- Mercedes C Class

> Loan tenure of 6 years was the most popular

> Average Car EMI in India was Rs. 11500