As another data point to monitor the health of the automotive market, Cox Automotive is launching a 13-month rolling used-vehicle seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). With the average new-vehicle transaction price remaining north of $37,000, the used-vehicle market continues to see high demand, Cox reported.

While 2019 is expected to be the peak year of off-lease vehicles returning to the market, Cox anticipates that off-lease volumes will remain close to this level for at least another year. Moreover, the off-lease product mix is changing with trucks and crossovers representing more of the supply and providing more attractive used vehicle alternatives to would-be new-vehicle buyers.

The August used-vehicle SAAR is 39.8 million units. The used retail SAAR takes it a step further by only looking at used vehicles sold via a dealership (both franchised and independent) thus removing private party sales from the calculation. The August retail used-vehicle SAAR is 19.9 million units.