Russians' spending on used cars set a new record in 2026

In April, Russians purchased 542.2 thousand used cars, spending 640.1 billion rubles on them. This amount was 14% higher than the result of April last year and turned out to be 13% more than in March this year. The cost of a used car in the middle of spring has become the highest since the beginning of the year, the analytical agency Autostat reported on May 29 according to the results of a study with Gazprombank Autoleasing.

In April, the leadership in the sales structure belongs to age-related cars (10 years and older), in April they sold 380 thousand units, which is 70% of the entire secondary market. 263.2 billion rubles were spent on them, compared to 230.5 billion rubles in April 2025. In the financial capacity of the secondary market, the share of cars under the age of 5 decreased (from 25.5% to 23.4%), while the share of spending on cars aged 5 to 9 years inclusive increased significantly (from 33.5% to 35.5%).

Chinese brands showed the greatest growth in the financial capacity of the secondary market. In April, Russians purchased 30.1 thousand used cars of brands from China for the amount of 60.7 billion rubles. If they added 41% in units by April 2025, then they showed a 2.2-fold increase in money. Their share of costs has almost doubled, from 4.9% (in April 2025) to 9.5% (in April 2026). At the same time, most of the money is still spent on used cars of European brands (in April - 215.9 billion rubles), and in terms of market volume there is a different alignment — Japanese used cars have become the leaders (146.1 thousand units).

Finally, the SUV segment (crossovers and SUVs) continues to strengthen its leadership in the secondary market, experts noted. These used cars accounted for 51.3% of all money spent in April (328.4 billion rubles). A year ago, their share was 4 percentage points lower and amounted to less than half (47.3%; 265.9 billion rubles).

According to analysts, in the four months of 2026, the financial capacity of the secondary market amounted to 2.22 trillion rubles, which is 12% more than in the same period last year.

The furrows do not spoil: What is happening in the used car market

Experts expect that 2026 will be a crucial year for Chinese cars on the secondary market

Earlier, on May 23, experts said that the top models that can be most profitably sold on the Russian secondary car market include three Lada models — Niva Legend, Granta and Granta Cross. Experts studied the ads on the platform and found out which used cars retain their price best after three years of operation.