TL;DR
The Mobility Intelligence Report 2026 reveals that India's used-car market is growing, driven by first-time buyers and increased financing, with SUVs being popular, but EV resale value poses a new challenge.
Autocar India and Spinny have jointly released the Mobility Intelligence Report 2026, offering a comprehensive analysis of India's evolving used-car ecosystem. The report, based on over 11,000 transactions across nine cities, highlights significant trends, including the rise of first-time car ownership, increasing adoption of financing, changing consumer aspirations, and emerging challenges related to electric vehicle (EV) resale.
Key findings indicate that 80-82% of used-car buyers are first-time owners, underscoring the market's role as an entry point into car ownership. India's used-car market is now 1.39 times larger than the new-car market and is growing at an annual rate of 11-13%, with the organized segment expanding at over 20% annually. Financing penetration in the used-car sector has doubled to 32% over the past five years, facilitating easier access to higher-value vehicles.
Consumer preferences are shifting, with SUVs continuing to drive aspiration-driven demand and automatic vehicles accounting for 37% of transactions due to a preference for convenience. The report also sheds light on ownership economics, noting that one-year-old vehicles depreciate by 21% on average, while three-year-old and five-year-old vehicles depreciate by 33% and 41% respectively, yet a five-year-old vehicle still retains nearly 60% of its original value. However, EV resale remains a significant challenge due to evolving technology, battery health concerns, and limited residual-value benchmarks.
