LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.—Used car values saw an overall uptick in April, the first such increase in 27 months, according to Black Book.
The company’s Used Vehicle Retention Index listed at 113.1 for April, a slight uptick from March's value of 113.0.
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 a percentage of original typically equipped MSRP.
Despite the slight uptick in the Index, the change is notable given that the Index hasn't seen a month-over-month increase of any sort dating all the way back to January, 2015, when the Index registered 126.8, a slight increase from 126.7 in the previous month. Since that time, the Index has slowly fallen to the 113.1 level today, Black Book stated.
Particularly among car segments, the month of April saw stronger-than-average vehicle value retention compared to the last few years. Traditionally strong spring season segments such as compact cars and subcompact cars have seen their overall retention strength rise during the last several weeks. The likely reason, Black Book cited, is the previous 12-24 months have shown great depreciation for 2- to 6-year-old vehicles in these segments, and consumers may see great value in their sticker prices this spring.
Conversely, on the truck side, compact crossovers are beginning to see accelerated depreciation over the last several weeks, driven largely by more intra-segment competition between models as well as rising supply, leading to lower prices at auction, Black Book said.
"April saw stronger seasonality trends than what we had been seeing during the last few spring seasons," said Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics for Black Book, in a statement. “There certainly remains a growing concern over rising supply levels, which typically leads to higher depreciation, but with prices on some segments seeing better value, consumers may be more willing to consider used vehicles in some key car segments.”