CarDekho reports 99% surge in traffic for pre-owned cars post lockdown

• 99% of used car traffic recovered whereas 77 % of new car traffic recovered
• Traffic from Orange and Green Zones for new cars recovered 84 %
• Highest recovery rate of products between INR 1-5 lakh in new cars segment
• INR 2-5 lakh segment in pre-owned cars fully recovered post-lockdown

CarDekho, the leading full-stack auto company has reported 99% recovery in customer traffic for used car segment after the lockdown whereas 77% customers are back to search for new cars. A study conducted by the company shows that with the lifting of the lockdown, there is a  major shift in customers preferences across the segments, with hatchback and low-budget being the most sought-after cars across segments.

The traffic from Orange and Green Zones for new cars PAN India has recovered 84 % where as from red zones it has recovered 58% ; It signifies the customer sentiments improving strongly in Green and Orange zone with Red Zone fast catching up as customer search for their desired car has now resumed.

As per the report, the recovery rate of cars in the INR 1-5 lakh segment is the highest. Among SUVs, INR 5-15 lakh segment has the highest share, whereas sedans in the INR 15-20 lakh range are the most searched cars. MUVs within the price range of INR 10 lakh has been most sought during this period; the premium segment share has low volume (10%) and a very low recovery rate (50%). Further, Maruti and Tata cars are most searched by consumers, with Maruti having 23% share in new car traffic and Honda the highest share in the mid-segment cars with 7% share in traffic. The rest have 4-5% each.

The study was conducted between 17^th Feb – 17^th March, termed as the pre-lockdown period; the mid-lockdown period between mid-March till mid- April; and post-lockdown between 12th May to 28th May. It was also seen that the traffic from the Orange zone for used cars was the highest, with most coming from Karnataka. In the Red Zone, traffic from Maharashtra region for pre-owned cars was the highest.

Says Mr Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO CarDekho, “Pre, mid and post-lockdown periods have impacted car traffic across the segments. New car and used car business have seen transformations in the consumer journey. The pandemic outbreak has changed people preferences and we believe they will opt for personal mobility solutions rather than shared mobility. We are now seeing a very fast recovery of consumer traffic on CarDekho with preferences for budget-friendly options. The used cars traffic has recovered by 99% and new car traffic by 77% showing that the market is now getting ready for actual business. We are hopeful that the sales recovery will also be fast with the lifting of the lockdown.”