“Why the Used Toyota “”Corolla Cross”” Soared in Price? New car 3 million yen to used 5 million yen! What is the abnormal situation of the used car market?
Corolla Cross is an “”anomaly”” at 5 million yen
The used car market has been experiencing an overall surge in market prices due to the long delivery times of new cars, and popular models are now priced at a premium that far exceeds new car prices.
The price of popular used cars is at a premium, far exceeding the price of new cars.
The popular SUV “”Corolla Cross”” is priced at 5,000,000 yen! A look at the SUVs that are now selling extremely well .
Used car prices far exceeding new car prices… conventional wisdom is no longer valid!
With the recent trend toward longer delivery times for new cars due to the lack of progress in the supply of semiconductors and various other parts, demand has increased as users who were considering new cars now also consider used cars, resulting in an overall surge in the used car market price.
Except for rare limited production models or those with special equipment or history, used cars rarely exceeded the price of new cars. However, such examples are now increasing.
The Toyota Corolla Cross is one such model, with a price tag of 4,899,000 yen at a major used car dealer as of July 22.
This Corolla Cross is a FWD version of the top-end “”Hybrid Z”” grade, which also comes with an optional panoramic roof and a 9-inch display audio system.
Although this is a 2022 model and the interior and exterior are in overall good condition, the mileage is approximately 12,000 km, so it is not a “”like-new”” car.
The price of a new Corolla Cross “”Hybrid Z”” with 2WD specification is 2.99 million yen, and the starting cost including options such as a panoramic roof is about 3.5 million yen.
According to the used car dealer’s representative, this Corolla Cross has no special equipment or history, and is just a general “”used car.
Despite this, the price of this car is about 1.5 million yen more than the new car price.
In the case of major used car dealers, the price of each car is basically determined automatically by the cost of purchasing at auctions for dealers, so the price does not seem to have been set arbitrarily for the purpose of creating a buzz.
In fact, several Corolla Crosses sold at another major used car dealer are priced in the low 4 million yen range, indicating that the overall market price is soaring.
Why the used Toyota Corolla Cross soaring? New car 3 million yen to 5 million yen used! What is the abnormal used car market?
Advantages of Used Cars Go from “”Cheap to Affordable”” to “”Quick to Get””
It is the balance between supply and demand that largely determines the price of used cars.
The Corolla Cross is a compact SUV that is popular worldwide and has recorded strong sales in Japan immediately after its launch.
In particular, hybrid vehicles account for the majority of sales in Japan, mainly due to their class-leading fuel economy.
On the other hand, the global shortage of semiconductors and components has been plaguing the automotive industry in recent years, preventing the production of new vehicles from proceeding as planned.
In particular, hybrid vehicles, which require more semiconductors, tend to take longer to deliver than gasoline vehicles, and in Toyota’s case, most of its hybrid vehicles are being delivered in six months or more, or orders are being suspended.
Under these circumstances, the only way to get a Corolla Cross hybrid as quickly as possible is still to rely on the used car market.
However, since there are very few used cars for a relatively new model like the Corolla Cross to begin with, the ones that do appear on the market are literally up for grabs. As a result, the prices of used cars seem to be at a premium, far exceeding the price of new cars.
The highest new car price for a Toyota Land Cruiser (300 series) is approximately 8 million yen, but there are models on the used car market that are priced at close to 20 million yen.
A used car industry insider describes the recent used car market as follows.
A used car is basically a choice made by users who prioritize cost.
To put it another way, the main motivation for choosing a used car was ‘I don’t have the budget to buy a new car.
Recently, however, more and more users are choosing used cars because they can get them quickly.
Since such users do not prioritize “”buying cheap,”” the market price of a near-new car will inevitably rise. This situation is expected to continue until the supply of new cars recovers.
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Unfortunately, there is no prospect of resolving the shortage of semiconductors and other components, and these conditions are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
Therefore, there is a great possibility that models other than the Corolla Cross will be sold at a premium price that far exceeds the price of a new car.
The current used car market is truly an “”anomaly”” considering the conventional wisdom, but on the other hand, there are many things in society where one can get a car quickly (and receive priority service) in exchange for paying an additional fee.
Until the supply of new cars recovers, the most effective countermeasure may be to adopt this attitude toward used cars as well.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)”
