BETAM Used Car Market Report: Demand Grows in March as Real Prices Keep Falling
Auto Sales
The Bahçeşehir University Center for Economic and Social Research (BETAM) has published its latest Used Car Market Outlook report based on listing data from sahibinden.com. The March 2025 data reveals a notable rebound in used car demand, despite a continued decline in real car prices for the 21st consecutive month.
Demand Up, Listings Grow, Prices Fall (in Real Terms)
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The used car demand index rose 5.3% YoY and 11.8% MoM in March.
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The sales-to-listings ratio climbed 1.4 points to 21.3%, thanks to a 13.1% increase in cars sold and a 5.5% increase in listings.
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Cars spent slightly more time on the market, with average listing age rising 0.4 days to 21.3 days.
Real Car Prices Keep Dropping
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Inflation-adjusted car prices fell by 2.1% in March compared to February, bringing the real price index down to 147.2 (2020=100).
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On an annual basis, the real price change improved to -19.9%, recovering from -41.4% in June 2024.
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This marks a steady—but still negative—trend from the peak of +48% in May 2023.
Nominal Prices See Moderate Growth
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Average used car prices rose slightly from ₺947,152 in February to ₺950,515 in March.
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Compared to March 2024, nominal prices were up 10.6%.
Listings and Sales Are Both Rising
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Used car listings increased 5.5% MoM, reaching 1,002,329 units.
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Cars sold rose 13.1%, up from 188,599 to 213,363.
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This contributed to the rising sales-to-listings ratio, signaling improved market activity.
Cars Are Taking Slightly Longer to Sell
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The average listing duration rose to 21.3 days, indicating slightly slower turnover.