The drop in wholesale used vehicle prices slowed in the past week.
Wholesale used vehicle prices fell 0.86 percent last week, according to the BlackBook Weekly Market Insights. It was nearly half of the fall of the previous week.
“Wholesale declines continued last week, but the rate of decline did show some signs of slowing down, with the overall rate depreciation coming back under 1 percent for the first time this month,” BlackBook reported. “Some dealers are starting to plan for the potential of a UAW strike and that is pushing them to the lanes to ensure they have inventory ‘just in case.’”
Premium sports cars ended a streak in which prices across all categories followed by BlackBook, increasing in price by 0.46 percent or $247.
“The size of the segment is small and last week’s performance was heavily influenced by strength of the Chevrolet Corvette,” BlackBook noted.
The nine car segments fell by 0.83 percent or $137. Sub-compact cars were down 2.1 percent or $178. Compact cars (1.37 percent or $172) and sports cars (1.19 percent or $279) were down more than 1 percent.
All 13 truck and SUV segments dropped, with an average loss of 0.87 percent or $192.
Full-size luxury crossover SUVs lost $516 and full-size crossover SUVs $426. Sub-compact luxury, compact crossover luxury and mid-size luxury crossover SUVs fell more than $200, as did minivans.
The sales rate at auction was at 48 percent, a small decline from the previous week.
“With increases in no-sales seen last week, buyers are showing signs of being more cautious about the uncertainty of the wholesale market,” BlackBook reported. “Other factors contributing the heavy declines include high fuel prices and interest rates continuing to rise. Now, with a looming UAW strike coming soon, which could potentially reverse this downward trend, no one seems to know what to expect next, with this coming weeks results.”
The retail price index slipped under the starting point for 2023 at 0.99. The inventory is up from the beginning of the year at 1.02. Vehicles are taking 51 days to turn.
