Petrol, Diesel or CNG: Which Used Car Does Ahmedabad Prefer?

Ahmedabad is Gujarat’s most populous city. This is reflected in the used car market, with the city accounting for 3.9% of India’s pre owned car market. With its robust network of roads and highways, and its proximity to leading manufacturing and business hubs, Ahmedabad is a key market for both new and used cars.

While hatchbacks still make up more than half of the second hand car market, Ahmedabad has shown a growing preference for SUVs. Regardless, petrol powered cars were the preferred choice among used car sales in Ahmedabad, and here is a detailed analysis of the market in terms of fuel preference.

Used Car Fuel Trends in Ahmedabad: Petrol Remains On Top

From CARS24 internal sales data and the comprehensive CARS24 Gears of Growth report, we have some insights into Ahmedabad’s used car sales. Here’s what it looks like in terms of fuel choice.

Key Takeaways from the Data

• Petrol cars make up more than two-thirds of used cars sold in Ahmedabad.
• Mix of busy internal roads and highways in Ahmedabad see buyers favour compact petrol vehicles.
• Sales of diesel vehicles saw a slight increase due to running cost benefits and vehicle choices.
• CNG cars in Ahmedabad have about 2% share with petrol and diesel still going strong.
• The share of used petrol cars in Ahmedabad has fallen slightly in 2024 compared to 2023.

Do Fuel Types Affect Resale Value In Ahmedabad?

Fuel types most definitely play a major role in the resale value of a car. Over the past few years, more stringent emission regulations have made diesel cars more expensive. This led to carmakers phasing out their compact diesel models in favour of petrol and even CNG vehicles. However, the sales of used diesel cars in Ahmedabad have evidently countered the trend.

• Diesel remains popular in Ahmedabad’s second-hand car market despite new diesel variants being discontinued. However, this has led to steady depreciation of diesel cars.
• Used petrol hatchbacks remain the best sellers due to their consistent demand and lower cost.
• As with most big cities, more buyers turn to automatic cars and the most affordable variants are petrol powered.
• Used CNG cars have seen a rise in demand over 2023, making up a larger share in 2024.

Body Style and Fuel Type: The Correlation

Hatchbacks were the most popular body style among used cars in Ahmedabad, followed by sedans and SUVs. While the share of hatchbacks dropped slightly, SUVs have gained ground on sedans. A larger number of used car buyers chose the more rugged body style thanks to its higher ground clearance and versatility.

Hatchbacks:

All new hatchbacks, except the Tata Altroz, are only offered with petrol engines. There are more options for CNG variants. Used hatchback cars also keep this trend going with over 80% of used cars sold being petrol powered. Ahmedabad, unlike many other cities, has seen petrol lose out slightly on market share in 2024 as against 2023 with used diesel hatchback cars seeing a rise of about 1%.

Sedans:

The best selling used sedans in Ahmedabad were mostly petrol driven though demand for diesel sedans was close behind and rather consistent. Diesel offers better efficiency and there are many used diesel sedans and compact sedans available. The demand for petrol sedans saw a gain of about 1%, corresponding to the drop in the share of diesel sedans.

SUVs:

Unsurprisingly, in Ahmedabad, diesels continued to dominate the used SUV market in 2024 as they did 2023. However, there was an evident change in 2024. More pre-owned SUV buyers chose petrol SUVs with used diesel SUVs losing about 1.8% share. The demand for used petrol SUVs also rose by 1.8% over the same period. You have to note that SUV sales also include MPVs, hence there is a larger percentage of petrol and CNG powered SUVs.

Why are Used Petrol Cars More Popular in Ahmedabad?

Petrol powered vehicles remained the most popular choice across India in 2024. However, there are more reasons behind this other than outright cost. Here are some of the reasons why petrol vehicles are popular in Ahmedabad:

• The lower price and lower cost of maintenance makes used petrol cars better value propositions.
• Petrol cars are more refined and reliable, making for hassle-free ownership.
• Be it hatchbacks, sedans or SUVs, the majority of automatic variants are petrol. Those who want convenience at a lower price point will choose a petrol-powered used automatic car.
• Petrol as a fuel is also more widely available across India, which may not be true for diesel and CNG.

Most Popular Used Cars in Ahmedabad, by Fuel Type:

While petrol remains the most popular fuel type for second hand cars in Ahmedabad, buyers have also shown a sustained preference for diesel cars. Again it is petrol powered used hatchback cars that dominate the numbers. The Hyundai i10 was the most popular petrol used car in Ahmedabad. The best selling used diesel car in Ahmedabad was the ever-popular Maruti Suzuki Swift. The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R was the best selling CNG used car.

Petrol Cars:

The Hyundai i10 topped sales for second hand petrol cars in Ahmedabad by some margin. In second place was the subcompact Maruti Suzuki Alto. The country’s bestseller, the Maruti Suzuki Swift, is not too far behind in third spot. The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R 1.0 and Hyundai Grand i10 round off this list. All of the top five are hatchbacks. 

This shows that used petrol car buyers in Ahmedabad prioritise practicality and cost.

Diesel Cars:

Used Maruti Suzuki models lead the way in diesel as well with the Swift hatchback taking top spot and the Swift Dzire compact sedan taking third place. The used Hyundai Verna took second place showing the sophistication in choice of buyers and their preference of better features. The Grand i10 was in fourth place putting pre owned Hyundai high up the order for customer’s brand preference.

The Ford EcoSport is still popular and takes up the final spot in the top five used diesel cars in Ahmedabad.

CNG Cars:

Used CNG cars in Ahmedabad saw consistent low sales with Maruti Suzuki taking the top four spots. Maruti Suzuki’s virtual monopoly in the CNG space has been evident in many cities thanks to the wide variety of used CNG-powered Maruti cars in Ahmedabad. The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R 1.0 was the best selling model. The versatile Eeco was in second place, while the Alto and new Wagon R hatchback cars took the next two spots.

The stylish and robust Tata Tiago hatchback was in fifth place, making a point for the brand. New Tata models have packaged the CNG cylinder better and also offer a choice of automatic transmission.

The used car market in Ahmedabad forms about 3.9% of the total sales volume of pre owned cars in India. The city has shown a consistent preference for used petrol cars as well as diesel cars, with CNG cars also starting to make an impression. It also reflects the higher spending power of buyers, as evidenced by the growing sales of used SUVs in Ahmedabad.

Conclusion

Petrol and diesel cars continue to rule used car sales in Ahmedabad. This is despite the arrival of many alternative fuel sources including more affordable hybrid cars and electric vehicles. Stricter new government regulations are bringing in a slight change in perception but, even so, petrol continues to be the fuel of choice for many.

Like most other used car markets, Ahmedabad continues to be driven mostly by petrol. This is due to its wider availability as well as the lower maintenance costs of petrol cars. That said, second hand diesel cars witnessed a rise in the share of used cars in Ahmedabad.