Stop cars: banks approved half as many loans for used cars

Russian banks issued half as many loans for used cars this September — by only 44 billion rubles, Izvestia found out. The fact is that financial organizations do not want to take such cars as collateral — they are difficult to sell due to problems with spare parts and maintenance. By comparison, almost three times as many loans are issued for new cars. The primary car market is also going through hard times, but it is supported by preferential programs and subsidies from automakers. How the secondary segment will develop further is described in the Izvestia article.

Why have used car loans dropped?

Loans for used cars in September amounted to only about 44 billion rubles, which is almost half as much as in the same month a year earlier, Izvestia found out. The secondary car market is stagnating compared to the primary one. Experts attribute the situation both to high loan rates and to the fact that banks are more likely to refuse to issue loans for old cars.

According to the United Credit Bureau (OKB), the share of loans for used cars is now approaching 20%, with a total disbursement volume of 190 billion rubles. A year earlier, the indicator was at the level of 40%, but now new cars account for the overwhelming number of deliveries.

The used car loan market has revived somewhat in recent months, but it still remains less active compared to new cars, the press service of the Russian Automobile Dealers Association said.

In September, loans for new cars also decreased compared to the same month last year, but not so significantly — from 153.4 billion to 146.3 billion, Izvestia calculated based on OKB data. Thus, almost three times more loans are issued for new cars than for old ones.

This is due to both the high key rate and the lack of subsidies for the purchase of old cars, explained Andrey Ignatenko, Director of the Insurance and Financial Services Department at Avilon AG.

The gap between the new and used car markets has arisen due to government support for this industry, said Andrey Yeremenko, head of Ingo Bank's car lending department. Sales of new cars are stimulated by preferential and subsidized programs, which drives up demand. The used car market does not have such measures and suffers from high loan rates.

The main factor in the decline in demand for used cars is expensive loans, said Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets. Used cars do not participate in government programs, and the average rate for them for the first eight months of 2025 reached 26.3% — 5.7 percentage points higher than a year earlier. For comparison, the rates for new cars are now about 10%, which creates a huge difference in overpayment.

What makes it harder to get a loan for a used car?

— Now banks have become much more selective when issuing loans secured by used cars. The secondary market has always been difficult for car loans, but now the situation has become tougher," the press service of the ROAD association confirmed.

It is not profitable for banks to take used cars as collateral, because the older the car, the more difficult it is to evaluate it, said Nikita Kulagin, head of the Macroeconomic Analysis Department at Sovcombank. The risk that the loan debt will exceed the cost of the car becomes high, and if the borrower defaults, the bank may lose money. In addition, used cars are more difficult to sell due to wear and expensive repairs.

The drop in demand for used cars only makes the situation worse, because because of this, their prices are falling, Nikita Kulagin said. This means that the cost of collateral for used car loans is also decreasing, which means that banks have to increase the amount of reserves for each such loan. To reduce the number of such cases, banks give priority to the primary car market.

About 70% of used cars sold are older than ten years, and 40% cost less than 500 thousand rubles, said Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets. The high risk of depreciation and low liquidity of such an asset force credit institutions to tighten requirements and reduce disbursements. The approval rate of such applications does not exceed 25%.

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In addition, the supply of high-quality used cars in Russia has decreased, added Andrey Yeremenko from Ingo Bank. Due to the crisis in the supply of new cars in 2022-2023, the flow of fresh used cars to the secondary market has also sharply decreased. The fleet of "young" used cars (1-3 years old) has been depleted. Banks are wary of lending to old cars (older than 7-10 years) because of the high risks.

New cars are now more attractive for lending, despite rising costs for consumers, explained Magomed Gamzaev, Director of Financial Product Development at Compari. Their collateral is more stable, so the decline in loans for new cars compared to last year is milder than the sharp decline in the secondary market.

How will the car market develop in 2025

More loans are being issued for new cars, despite the future growth of recycling. Russians are again trying to buy cars before they rise in price, said Igor Rastorguev from AMarkets. Recycling is a one—time payment that the government charges car buyers for recycling cars after their operation. Because of it, the total purchase price may increase significantly.

Starting from December 1, the rules for calculating the recycling fee will change: now the car's capacity will also be taken into account, said Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department at the Rikom-Trust investment company.

The benefits will remain only for cars up to 160 hp, including many Lada, Chinese crossovers and some foreign cars — their price will not increase. For cars more powerful than 160 hp, the collection will increase, which will lead to an increase in the price of such cars.