India, March 30 -- With the Covid-led demand surge in personal mobility, the pre-owned car market is not only outpacing new car sales, but used cars are also being sold at a premium of 7-10% over levels seen in 2020, industry experts said. Pre-owned cars are in short supply as consumers delay replacing or upgrading existing vehicles due to job and income losses, and high inflation shrinks purchasing power, they added. "The average buying price of a used car has gone up by 7-8% in the last one year," said Shashank Srivastava, executive director, Maruti Suzuki. "Many customers, who were saving to buy new cars, or get them financed, find that prices have gone up by the time they come to the market to purchase. A used car may fit their budgets better." Customers are also preferring to hold their cars for a longer period of time, with the average period going up from eight years to over nine years in the last 12 months.P12...