LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.—Used vehicle values continued to hold up well as the year draws to a close, reported Black Book.
The company’s Used Vehicle Retention Index increased for the second straight month in October, rising to 0.6% to 114.6 from 113.9 in September.
The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original typically-equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition.
The last remaining expected replacement activity stemming from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma drove continued vehicle valuation stability and shopping demand during the month of October, Black Book said. During the month, vehicle segments such as compact crossover SUVs (+1.3%), full-size cars (+1.3%), full-size crossover SUVs (+1.7%), and full-size pickups (+2.0%) were a few of the categories that saw noticeable retention strength due to increased demand during October.
“So far this year, we have seen a very strong performance for used vehicle value retention, driven largely by the surprising value shoppers found in the affordable smaller cars after spring, and the huge demand resulting from hurricane replacements in the fall,” said Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics for Black Book. “Looking ahead in the next two months, we expect the market to decline slightly but still end this year with a better-than-expected strength in used vehicle values.”