LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.—The decline in used car values increased in May, according to the latest report from Black Book. The average price of a used vehicle for model years 2009-2013 declined -1.2% in May, compared to April when prices were largely unchanged, the company stated.
Domestic cars changed -1.4%; import cars changed -2.0%; domestic trucks changed -0.8%; and domestic trucks changed -0.4%. Average pre-recession annual depreciation was continually recorded between -15% and -18%, and Black Book expects 2015 depreciation near -14.5%.
After finishing with the strongest retention in April, Compact SUVs saw the largest segment depreciation during May at -3.6%. Compact Pickups saw the strongest retention in May at +1.0%.
Seven of the top nine largest depreciating segments were cars, including upper mid-size (-2.9%); entry-level (-2.8%); entry mid-size (-2.6%); compact (-2.4%); prestige luxury (-1.7%); luxury (-1.6%); and full-size (-1.4%).
Premium sporty car finished the month with the best retention (0.0%) and unchanged on the month.
“The month of May saw a noticeable swing from beginning to end, and while overall depreciation finished at just -1.2%, the end of the month started to pick up steam,” said Anil Goyal, VP of automotive valuation and analytics. “We anticipate June will show the beginning of summer seasonal patterns, with many vehicles showing ‘no sales’ at auctions due to lower buyer demand.”