China's used vehicle sales increased 26.74% year on year (y/y) to 1,226,300 units during the first five months of this year, xinhuanet.com said today, citing the latest statistics by the China Automobile Dealers Association.

The trade value totaled 53.76 billion yuan ($7,87 bln) during the five months, up 31.67% y/y from a year earlier. The average unit vehicle price went up, as supply fell short of demand.

From January to May, the average trade price of second-hand vehicles stood at 43,800 yuan per unit, 1,600 yuan higher than a year earlier. The used-car trade price was 47,000 yuan per unit, down 2,900 yuan. The used-SUV trade price went up by 10,800 yuan to 132,800 yuan per unit.

Private purchase of used vehicles accounted for 84.57% of the total trade. The second-hand car trade made up 53.25% of total second-hand vehicle trade. The used-truck trade surged by 43.06% from a year earlier.

Notably, second-hand vehicle trade volume totaled 247,500 units in May, down 15.58% from April, the first drop in 2009. This shows that used-car market growth might be slowing down into a low season.