By Precious Olowookere

When conforming to strenuous macro-economic situations seems like what is going to be the norm going forward, motorists found themselves opening up to used vehicles and that is going to drive behaviours heading to year 2024.

The low appetite for new cars has deepened due to policymakers’ Naira devaluation and the wide exchange rate difference when matching up against the U.S. dollar.  They have led to enormous tariffs imposed by customs which affects all sorts of imported goods including automobiles.

A market analytics firm Mordor Intelligence has been capturing how these factors will enable the rise in the use of second-hand vehicles in the coming year, with sedans being the preference for the consumers.

It is owing “to their lower price” according to the intelligence data “compared to their sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) counterparts.”

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The top brands since information gathering started in June are Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, and Honda Accord – they have been listed among the top-selling used car models in Nigeria.

Petrol prices rising unabated has been identified as the factor leading to the behavioural shift as sedans deliver “better mileage performance” for every drop of fuel spent. And there have been beneficiaries as a result of the new interests, especially vehicle listing platforms.

Some of the pages listed include Jiji, Carmart, OList, and Autochek Africa. They appear to be the connectors enabling consumers to inspect vehicle history whenever they are about to make a used-car purchase, therefore limiting exposure to fraudulent transactions.

The start of 2024 is likely to commence with online transactions for major products and relieving the discomfort that comes with in-store purchases.

It is expected of everyone therefore to embrace a new dawn that sees car enthusiasts making orders online instead of visiting a dealership.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.