Encar.com, the largest car-trading platform in Korea, released used-car prices for December 2025. The announced prices are based on Encar.com big data and analyze used-car prices for popular 2022 model-year vehicles from domestic automakers such as Hyundai Motor Company, Kia, Renault Korea Motors, and KG Mobility, as well as imported brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. The analysis assumes 60,000km of mileage and covers vehicles with no accident history.
December is a time when prices may fall due to model-year changes for the coming year or year-end discount promotions by automakers, leading more owners to sell their cars. As a result, the year-end is traditionally an off-season with more listings and reduced demand for used cars. However, this year demand for economical and practical used cars has persisted, and average prices for domestic and imported cars in December edged up by 0.55%.
Prices for major domestic models rose an average of 0.79%, with diesel SUVs standing out compared with other fuel types. The Hyundai The New Palisade 2.2 2WD Calligraphy climbed 3.23% from the previous month, the biggest gain among representative domestic models in December. The Kia Carnival 4th generation 9-seat Prestige increased 2.92%, and the Kia Sportage 5th generation 2.0 2WD Noblesse rose 1.73%, continuing the gains from last month. The Hyundai The New Santa Fe 2.2 2WD Prestige also inched up 0.31% from the previous month.
City cars and small SUV models, which maintain steady demand in the used-car market for practicality and value, generally saw price increases, but some models posted sharp declines, resulting in contrasting movements by model. The Hyundai Casper Inspiration rose 1.19%, the Kia The New Ray Signature 0.80%, and the KG Mobility Very New Tivoli 1.5 2WD V3 0.78%. Meanwhile, the Chevrolet The New Spark Premier fell 1.26%, recording the largest drop among major domestic models in December.
By contrast, some popular imported sedan models showed price declines of more than 1%. The BMW 3 Series (G20) 320i M Sport fell 1.51%. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class W205 C200 AMG Line dropped 3.12%, the steepest fall among imported models in December.
In addition, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W213 E250 Avantgarde slipped 0.21%, while the Volvo XC60 2nd generation B6 Inscription and XC90 2nd generation B6 Inscription fell 0.65% and 0.94%, respectively.
“December generally sees an increase in used-car listings and downward price pressure due to model-year changes before the new year and year-end discount promotions, but this year demand for used cars appears to be holding up for economic reasons”, “If you are considering purchasing a used car, please review the price movements of models that declined this month, such as the Chevrolet The New Spark, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and BMW 3 Series,” the Encar.com representative said.
