The latest Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index shows that used retail vehicle sales increased in January.

Assessing retail vehicle sales based on observed changes in units tracked by vAuto, Manheim initially estimates that used-vehicle retail sales in January were up 5% compared to December, while used retail sales are estimated to be down 3% year over year in January. The average retail listing price for a used vehicle declined 2.9% over the last four weeks.

Using estimates of used retail days’ supply based on vAuto data, an initial assessment indicates January ended at 53 days’ supply, down five days from a revised 58 days at the end of December but four days higher than how January 2023 ended at 49 days.

January’s total new-light-vehicle sales were up 2.8% year over year, with one more selling day than January 2023. By volume, January new-vehicle sales were down 26.2% month over month. The January sales pace, or seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), came in at 15.0 million, a decrease of 0.7% from last year’s 15.1 million and down 6.9% from December’s revised 16.1 million pace.

Combined sales into large rental, commercial, and government fleets increased 3.1% year over year in January. Sales into rental fleets were up 20% year over year, sales into commercial fleets were down 14%, and sales into government fleets were up 6.6%. Including an estimate for fleet deliveries into dealer and manufacturer channels, the remaining retail sales were estimated to be up 4.1% from last year, leading to an estimated retail SAAR of 12.3 million, down 0.1m from last year’s pace, and down from December’s 13.4 million pace. Fleet market share was estimated to be 16.8%, down 1% from last year’s share.