Chinese used cars are losing value faster than their rivals

Used cars from Chinese brands priced between $20,000 and $35,000 lost value nearly a third faster than other cars in the same price range over the past year. That creates an opportunity for buyers, but a tougher market for sellers. Here’s how much values have fallen and why the impact varies by model.

The cars bought new a few years ago are coming back

Most Chinese-brand cars entering the used-car market were bought new a few years ago and are now being sold by their first owners. Private sellers listed 2,142 of them in August, up 58% on a year earlier, compared with 13% growth across the wider market. That means the supply of used Chinese-brand cars is growing much faster than the overall market.

Much of that growth is coming from four- and five-year-old vehicles, with first-owner MG ZS and Haval Jolion models increasingly appearing for sale. Sellers listed 1,519 of these cars in August, up from 948 a year earlier.

Chinese-brand cars lost nearly a third more value than other cars at $20–35k

Chinese-brand cars are losing value faster than the rest of the market. In September 2026, the same used car from brands including MG, GWM Haval, BYD, Chery and LDV was worth 9.7% less than a year earlier. Across all used cars, excluding dealer demos, values fell by 6.5% over the same period.

Those figures compare what a car was listed for when it sold against the same make, model, age and kilometres a year earlier. Dealer demo cars, the near-new cars a dealer has registered and driven, are left out, so it's your car getting cheaper rather than a cheaper mix of cars on sale.

The gap is even clearer in the $20,000–$35,000 range, where new Haval Jolion and MG ZS models sit. In September, the same Chinese-brand car was worth 11.1% less than a year earlier, compared with 8.7% for cars from other brands in the same price range. Cars are grouped by what that model and year typically cost in September 2025, so they still count in this comparison even if their value has since fallen below $20,000.

On the typical $23,300 Chinese car in that range, 11.1% is about $2,600 in a year.

The saving depends on the model

If you’re buying, the faster fall in value can work in your favour, but how much you save depends on the model. A two-to-three-year-old Haval Jolion was $5,495 cheaper than a new one, which had a typical drive-away price of $27,485 between July and September. Both figures are drive-away prices, so the difference reflects the saving against buying new.

At 20.0%, that was one of the smallest savings among the eighteen popular models we compared.

An MG HS of the same age saved $16,992, or 45.9% of its new price. That's the biggest share of the eighteen models in the table below.

An MG ZS saved $8,436, or 33.2%, a bigger share than a Toyota RAV4's 29.4%. A Toyota Corolla of the same age saved $7,551, about a fifth of its new price.

Two Chinese-brand SUVs sit at opposite ends of the table, showing that the badge alone doesn’t determine the saving. The 18 models are a sample of popular cars, not a complete picture of every model on sale.

What this means if you're buying or selling now

If you’re buying, the new-car drive-away price gives you a useful benchmark. The smaller the gap, the more tempting a new car becomes. From July to September, a two-to-three-year-old Haval Jolion was about $5,500 cheaper than a new one, while an MG HS was around $17,000 cheaper. The table above shows how the savings compare across the other models.

If you’re selling, the same car is worth about $2,600 less than it was last September, with a typical price of $23,300. Other brands at the same price lost less value over the year.

Peter Willis, Carma’s Director of Buying, puts it this way: “Before buying used, check the exact new-car drive-away price. For some Chinese brands, the gap can be pretty significant, while for others, you might find a new car isn’t much more expensive. If you’re selling, there are still buyers out there. Price your car against similar models listed today, rather than what you paid for it, and it should sell at much the same pace as the rest of the market.”

If you're weighing up a used Chinese car, that gap to the new drive-away price is the number to hold onto. Every Carma car goes through an inspection and reconditioning process verified by the NRMA, with 7-day returns and a 3-month warranty behind it. Browse our used cars to see what the same money buys, or get an online valuation today if you're looking to sell.