LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.—Action at the wholesale auto lanes has taken a U-turn, reports Black Book. As the coronavirus pandemic worsens in the U.S., the business at auto auction lanes has slammed the brakes.
As CUToday.info reported, in early March the auction lanes were packed with buyers, loading up on inventory at a time before in-person attendance at the auctions became a serious health risk. Black Book predicted the auction business would skid as dealers could not physically inspect cars before buying them.
“As more stay-at-home orders go into effect and dealership sales departments are required to close, the buying activity on the lanes has decreased and so have the prices (of used cars),” said Laura Wehunt, vice president, automotive valuations at Black Book.
‘Stark Contrast’
Volume-weighted, overall car segment values recently decreased by 1.04%.
“This is in stark contrast to the low depreciations and in some cases increases we had been experiencing the last couple of months,” Black Book said.
In cars, there were no surprises—all segments experienced significant declines this past week.
Volume-weighted, the overall truck segment (including pickups, SUVs, and vans) values decreased by -0.36% last week.