CarGurus released its 2024 U.S. August Intelligence Report. The report found used inventory levels have declined again in August, now down 2% year-over-year (YoY) and 7.4% below August 2022 levels. Meanwhile, new-vehicle lots continue to swell even further with August up 55.1% YoY – and an eye-watering 193.3% compared to August 2022. Interestingly, however, both new and used listings saw a MoM decline in days-on-market (albeit for different reasons).
In tandem, preliminary sales data suggests that used vehicles were in high demand in August, reaching the highest reading since March 2022. According to Kevin Roberts, CarGurus’ Director of Industry Insights, the reasoning could be the following:
"Our Vehicle Demand Index speaks to the growing consumer need for affordability. Although overall used demand is up 7.4% year-over-year, cars priced under $30,000 saw significant increases in activity while vehicles over this threshold actually saw an annual decline in demand. With used car demand at its highest levels since March 2022 and inventory down year over year, we can expect competition to remain high for this segment."
Additional Report Findings: