LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.—The latest report from Black Book shows used vehicles continue to hold their values well this spring.
The company’s Used Vehicle Retention Index for May increased 0.8% during the month registering 112.9 and up slightly from 112.0 in April.
The Index has now changed +0.6% over the last twelve months (112.3).
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 Index offers an accurate, representative, and unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values, Black Book said.
Reflecting the strong end to the spring selling season, the Index saw 15 total segments with positive or unchanged results within the Index, with subcompact cars (1.7%), compact crossover/SUV (1.7%), full-size cars (1.2%), and sporty cars (1.0%) showing the strongest gains. The Index has now shown a monthly decline in just three of the last ten months dating back to August, Black Book said.
“The used vehicle market is clearly benefitting from strong employment and consumer confidence currently, with many segments of both cars and trucks, large and small, seeing valuation strength over the last several months,” said Anil Goyal, executive vice president, operations. “After spring season, we typically see a decline in values in May. However, this year the used market is fairly stable, resulting in an uptick in our seasonally adjusted Index.”