These generations account for three-quarters of online used car sales

Data from Carvana reveals a surprising age group is buying a lot of used vehicles online.

According to analysis of 2019 sales data from the online platform for buying and selling used vehicles, millennials accounted for a leading 46% of total sales during the year. However, Gen X came in second place with 32%. This figure substantially exceeded the percentage of sales represented by the more tech-savvy (though also less financially secure) Gen Z (11%). 

More expectedly, baby boomers represented the lowest share of sales for the year (10%). In addition, men (57%) represented a larger share of Carvana’s 2019 sales than women (43%).   

Honda and Nissan figured prominently both in the makes and models of cars customers were buying and selling or trading in. The most-purchased vehicle in 2019 was the Nissan Altima, followed by the Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Hyundai Elantra, and Chevy Equinox. The most sold/traded-in vehicles were the Honda Civic, Ford Mustang, Honda Accord, Honda CRV, and Ford F150.

However, the fastest-selling cars measured by average time between listing and sale were the Volkswagen Passat (nine minutes), Ram 1500 (10 minutes), and Ford Escape (13 minutes). Interestingly, the most-searched term for the year, “Toyota,” was not included among the top- or fastest-selling vehicles.

In addition, Carvana received the most online traffic on Monday evenings, while the most popular day for consumers to shop a physical auto dealership is typically Saturday.

[Editor’s note – statistics for generational sales total less than 100% due to rounding.]