LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.—The average price of a used vehicle for model years 2012-2016 depreciated in value by 1.1% in February, significantly better than January’s -2.6%, due to a “spirited start” to the spring selling season, reports Black Book.
Cars decreased 0.7%, while trucks decreased 1.4%. All vehicles are averaging a 12-month change of -14.9%, the company said.
Sub-compact luxury CUVs showed the highest depreciation in February at 2.8%. Vehicles in this segment finished February with an average price of $15,122, a -19.7% change from year-ago levels.
Compared to February’s highest depreciation in the sub-compact luxury crossovers at -2.8%, the previous month saw six total segments finish with -3.0% or higher depreciation. In February, just four total segments finished with -2.0% or higher: near luxury cars (-2.6%); full-size crossover/SUV (-2.3%); and luxury cars (-2.1%).
Sub-compact cars finished February increasing in price by 0.8%. Vehicles in this segment finished the month with an average price of $5,936, a -17.8% change compared with a year ago.
Four of the top-performing segments in February were cars, and three of those finished with increasing values, including sub-compact cars: compact cars (+0.2%); mid-size cars (+0.1%); and full-size cars (-0.5%).
“February’s start of the spring selling season was only slightly off the mark set last year at -0.8% on the month, but it was still a very impressive month, particularly for a handful of car segments,” said Anil Goyal, executive vice president, operations at Black Book. “Our auction personnel will have a watchful eye in the days and weeks to come to see if activity heats up further despite the winter storms in the north, and to see which car and truck segments continue to get a lot of looks by dealers and remarketers.”