But as 2022 drew to a close, the auto industry began to overcome the difficulties. Chip production expanded and supply chain disruptions began to ease, allowing new car production to gradually recover.
The stabilization of used vehicle prices has become more evident in 2023. From January to August, vehicle production in Mexico reached a total of 2,512,661 units, which represents an increase of 12.1% compared to the same period of the year. last year. This increase has triggered a positive knock-on effect that has extended to dealerships, restoring the levels of new vehicles available for sale and having a significant impact on sales of pre-owned or used vehicles.
With the progressive restoration of the supply of new models, buyers once again considered the possibility of purchasing 0 km cars, thus relieving pressure on the used car market and returning used car prices to more reasonable levels. This represents a respite for both buyers, who feared paying exorbitant prices, and sellers, who feared for the future of their inventories.
According to Rosales, the price of this type of vehicle is expected to decrease by 15% towards the first quarter of next year. However, he notes that these estimates are approximate due to the lack of statistics on the used vehicle market.
According to the latest Simindex report on the automotive market, the sale of pre-owned vehicles experienced a decrease of 0.3% in May, and in June, this figure rose to 4.9%.
The president of the AMDA (Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors) mentions that the normalization in the supply of new vehicles, together with the reduction in the increase in the prices of these vehicles, has allowed semi-new vehicles to recover a share more in line with its trajectory prior to the pandemic.
Gerardo San Román, director of Checkmark, a platform specialized in managing the purchase and sale of pre-owned vehicles for dealers, states that in high-volume models, such as Vento, Versa, Sentra and Aveo, prices remain at appropriate levels.
However, for other models, such as the Toyota Sienna, Rap Ford and Honda CRV, demand remains high, which has led to waiting times to purchase a new vehicle of several months. This, in turn, has kept the prices of these models in the pre-owned market 15% higher.
“Vehicles that are highly sought after due to their specifications or particular reasons, such as the brand or model, maintain their added value in the pre-owned vehicle market. However, it is evident that the market in general is stabilizing,” says San Román in a interview with Expansión.