December 01, 2023
Wholesale: Market News (28)
Collector Car Auction Sells Out First Day
Staff Writer
October 15, 2023
Sullivan Collector Cars - a BigIron company, announced that Day 1 of its upcoming autumn auction in Carthage, Ill., scheduled for Oct. 30 -31, has officially sold out with limited space still available on the October 31st docket. This remarkable achievement comes as a testament to the passion and enthusiasm within the collector car community.
The eagerly anticipated event will feature an impressive docket of nearly 300 extraordinary vehicles, all of which will be offered to the highest bidder with No Reserve during the online-only, timed auction. A preview of the complete docket is available here.
Joe Sullivan, of Sullivan Collector Cars, expressed his excitement about the upcoming auction, stating, “The enthusiasm and anticipation within the collector car community is strong, as evidenced by our prior auction. Our sold-out docket will showcase a spectacular array of vehicles, including iconic models like the GTO and Cadillac Series 62, among others.”
“Our autumn auction was built upon the enormous energy we generated just a few months ago. This exceptional, sold-out, 100 percent No Reserve docket is proof of the industry’s strength. In addition, we have accumulated a diverse collection of vehicles that offers something for everyone.”
Sullivan Collector Cars is already gearing up for the next online timed auction, scheduled for February 2024.
Wholesale Market Stabilizes
Staff Writer
October 06, 2023
As the UAW strike continues, the wholesale market has settled into a period of stability when it comes to pricing trends. However, buyer interest has been up at auctions with the conversion rates continuing to climb each week, according to Black Book Market Insights.
Car Segments
- On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment decreased -0.15%. For reference, in the previous week, cars decreased by -0.29%.
- The 0-to-2-year-old Car segments were down -0.03% and 8-to-16-year-old Cars declined -0.09%.
- Seven of the nine Car segments decreased last week.
- Sub-Compact (+0.04%) and Compact (+0.02%) Car segments increased last week, compared to the prior week’s decline of -0.48% and -0.35%, respectively. Prior to last week’s increase, the Compact Car segment had been declining consistently for the previous eighteen weeks, for an average weekly change of -0.94%.
- Prestige Luxury Car had the largest decline last week, down -0.44%, compared to the prior week’s decline of -0.25%.
Truck / SUV Segments
- The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment decreased -0.05%, which is much less than the depreciation seen the prior week, of –0.19%.
- The 0-to-2-year-old models were stable with a 0.00% average change last week, while the 8-to-16-year-olds declined -0.25%.
- Three of the thirteen Truck segments increased last week, with Small Pickup reporting the largest increase at +0.26%, followed by Mid-Size Crossover (+0.19%) and Compact Crossover (+0.09%). The Mid-Size Crossover segment also increased +0.08% the week prior.
- Compact Van had the largest decline, with a drop of -1.28%. The segment has been declining for twenty-five consecutive weeks with an average weekly decline of -0.62%.
Black Book: Wholesale Market Declines
Staff Writer
September 06, 2023
The market continues to depreciate at an accelerated rate, despite increased auction activity last week, according to Black Book’s Weekly Market Update. Dealers continue to speculate on the potential UAW strike that could cost the industry billions and increase demand for used vehicles.
- On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment decreased -1.44%. For reference, in the previous week, cars decreased by -0.83%.
- The 0-to-2-year-old Car segments were down -0.94% and 8-to-16-year-old Cars declined -1.57%.
- Eight of the nine Car segments decreased last week, and seven of those had declines exceeding 1%.
- Premium Sporty Car increased +0.70%, compared with the prior week’s increase of +0.46%. The increases continue to be driven by the strength of the prior generation Chevrolet Corvette by collectors.
- Mid-Size Car had the largest decline last week, down -2.10%.
- Compact Cars continue to have above normal depreciation, down -1.29% last week, but the rate of depreciation is slowing from the highs that exceeded 2% the first three weeks of August.
- The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment decreased -1.38%, which is much more than the depreciation seen the prior week, of -0.87%.
- The 0-to-2-year-old models declined -1.00% last week, while the 8-to-16-year-olds declined -1.26%.
- All thirteen Truck segments declined last week and all of those segments reported declines greater than 1%.
- The Full-Size Luxury Crossover/SUV segment had the largest decline at -1.99%, setting a record as the largest single week decline for the segment.
- The Small Pickup segment saw increased depreciation last week, down -1.85% compared with the prior week’s drop of -0.62%.
- Full-Size Vans had a large drop, with a decline of -1.39%, just shy of the record drop from December 2019 of -1.45%.
Wholesale Market Declines
Staff Writer
August 22, 2023
The wholesale market continued to experience record declines for a third consecutive week with prices in some mainstream segments decreasing by more than 2%, according to Black Book Weekly Market Insights released on Aug. 22. On another hand, analysts have yet to see any meaningful decrease in used retail listed prices.
- On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment decreased -1.73%. For reference, in the previous week, cars decreased by -1.35%. This decline exceeds the largest single week depreciation experienced at the onset of the pandemic of -1.40%.
- The 0-to-2-year-old Car segments were down -1.20% and 8-to-16-year-old Cars declined -1.90%.
- All nine Car segments decreased last week, with seven of the nine reporting declines exceeding 1%.
- Compact (-2.51%), Mid-Size (-2.16%), and Full-Size (-2.15%) Cars reported declines exceeding 2%. This marks the third straight week of single week depreciation exceeding 2% for the Compact Car segment.
- Premium Sporty and Prestige Luxury Car segments continue to experience typical seasonal depreciation.
- The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment decreased -1.43%, which is consistent with depreciation seen the prior week, of -1.49%.
- The 0-to-2-year-old models declined -1.20% last week, while the 8-to-16-year-olds declined -1.10%.
- All thirteen Truck segments declined last week, and eleven of the segments had declines greater than 1%.
- Minivan (-2.15%) was the only Truck segment to drop by more than 2%. Despite being a large decline, this is still less than some of the declines last year and at the onset of the pandemic that were as large as -2.50%.
- The Small Pickup (-0.74%) segment had smaller depreciation than the larger Full-Size Pickup segment (-1.34%).
Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices Dip
Staff Writer
August 13, 2023
Wholesale used vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 1.6% in July from June. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) declined to 211.7, down 11.6% from a year ago.
“The July drop of 1.6% is an indicator of slowing wholesale price declines, at least when compared to the month-over-month losses we’ve seen since April,” said Chris Frey, senior manager of Economic and Industry Insights for Cox Automotive. “While the year-over-year price drop was again double-digit, let’s put some perspective on that. From July 2020, there were 22 straight monthly double-digit increases through April 2022; we’ve had just six double-digit declines since October last year, with only four of them consecutive. Keeping to the April theme, we’re now back to the same index value last seen in April 2021: 211.7. Used retail inventory continues to rebuild; but with used retail sales also showing some summer strength, we do not foresee wholesale price declines of serious import through December.”
July’s decrease was softened by the seasonal adjustment. The non-adjusted price change in July decreased by 3.8% compared to June, moving the unadjusted average price down 10.7% year over year.
In July, Manheim Market Report (MMR) values saw above-average declines that slowed as the month ended. Over the last four weeks, the Three-Year-Old Index declined an aggregate 3.4%. Over the month of July, daily MMR Retention, which is the average difference in price relative to the current MMR, averaged 98.6%, meaning market prices were below MMR values. The average daily sales conversion rate declined to 48.9%, which was below normal for the time of year. For context, the daily sales conversion rate averaged 60.1% in July 2019. Conditions favored buyers all month, but supply remained limited. The sales conversion rate in July was higher than in July 2022, which saw a 46.4% rate.
The major market segments saw seasonally adjusted prices that continued lower year over year in July. Compared to July 2022, pickups and vans again lost less than the industry, down 6.6% and 9.9%, respectively. SUVs fared only minimally better than the industry, off 11.5%. Compact cars performed the worst year over year, down 15.9%, followed by midsize cars at 14.2%, luxury at 12.6%, and sports cars at 12.1%. Compared to last month, all segments were down except one, with sports cars being up by 1.6%. Pickups lost less than the industry month over month, down 0.6%, while vans, compact cars, and luxury lost the most, with declines of 3.2%, 2.8%, and 2.4%, respectively.
IAA Enhances Selling Platform
Staff Writer
August 13, 2023
IAA, a subsidiary of RB Global, has released three enhancements to its selling platform. The product enhancements, IAA Vehicle Score, IAA Vehicle Value and the IAA Sales Decision Center, all work together to provide vehicle sellers with information that is critical in helping to optimize their auction strategies for greater returns.
IAA Vehicle Score is a patented, cutting-edge computer vision tool that promises fast and accurate ratings based on vehicle attributes and photos taken during vehicle check-in, allowing for cost- and time-savings. The automated model uses the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning techniques to analyze the vehicle's four corner images and provide accurate damage ratings. A score is assigned to the vehicle, giving a quick reference point for the vehicle's damage severity as it moves through the sale process.
IAA Vehicle Value uses the IAA Vehicle Score, plus several other relevant inputs, to deliver precise, unbiased vehicle valuations through machine learning and data mining. The predictive model is built on historical data and specific vehicle attributes, comparing similarly equipped and geographically located vehicles to generate a predicted value range.
Visible within IAA's existing selling environments, the new IAA Sales Decision Center gives sellers stock-level data to enable deeper data-driven decision-making, increases marketplace competition and helps sellers maximize returns. Sellers can use the data within the tool to make better-informed decisions regarding below-reserve sales, negotiations and vehicle reruns.
"Our customers are hungry for information that will add value for their businesses, so we're investing in the tools to help them make informed selling decisions and generate better returns," said Matt Ackley, chief digital officer at RB Global. "We continue to work closely with insurance carriers, dealerships, fleet lease and rental car companies to identify more opportunities like this set of enhancements, where we can implement technology to help automate processes and optimize vehicle selling decisions at scale."
Wholesale Auto Market Leveling Off
Staff Writer
August 03, 2023
After a few weeks of heavy declines across the board, the market appears to be leveling off. This is particularly true for some of the car segments; Full-Size Cars declined a very minimal -0.001%. In sharp contrast, the Full-Size Trucks (-0.64%) reported their largest single week decline since December 2022.
On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment decreased -0.27%. For reference, in the previous week, cars decreased by -0.59%.
The 0-to-2-year-old Car segments were down -0.23% and 8-to16-year-old Cars declined -0.40%.
All nine Car segments decreased last week.
Full-Size (-0.001%), Sporty (-0.02%), and Mid-Size (-0.06%) Car segments all reported stability last week. In sharp contrast, the Compact Car segment had the largest decline at -0.66%. Despite being the largest Car segment decline, it was still less than the prior week’s decline of -0.94%.
The luxury segments also reported smaller declines than seen in recent weeks. For example, Premium Sporty was down -0.02%, compared with -0.24% the week prior and Near Luxury Car was down -0.26%, compared with -0.58% the previous week.
The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment decreased -0.41%, smaller than the prior week’s decrease of -0.50%.
The 0-to-2-year-old Truck segments reported a smaller decline last week (-0.36%), but the 8-to-16-year-olds declined more, depreciating by -0.46%.
All thirteen Truck segments reported a decrease last week.
Compact Luxury Crossovers reported the largest decrease last week, with a decline of -0.85%. This marks the ninth consecutive week of declines for the segment with an average weekly change of -0.74%.
Full-Size Pickups have been declining for eight consecutive weeks, but last week, the segment had the largest single week decline (-0.64%) since December 2022. Over the past eight weeks, the segment has averaged a weekly decline of -0.36%.
Wholesale Prices Continue Slide
Staff Writer
July 23, 2023
Average wholesale used vehicle prices fell significantly in June and those declines continued into July, according to ADESA Chief Economist Tom Kontos in his recent Kontos Kommentary.
Combined with May’s declines, average wholesale prices are now about $2,000 below their April peaks.
Retail used vehicle sales and Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) sales were solid in June but continue to be well below pre-pandemic levels.
According to ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of auction industry used vehicle prices by vehicle model class, wholesale prices in June averaged $15,181 — down 5.8% compared to May, down 12.3% relative to June 2022, and up 32.9% versus pre-pandemic/June 2019.
Wholesale Prices Decline
Staff Writer
July 05, 2023
Declines are continuing across all segments with the overall market rate of weekly depreciation slowly increasing each week. Last week marked the ninth consecutive week of declines. In the auction lanes, the no sales are still abundant with sellers holding firm on floors and the buyers being cautious.
- On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment decreased -0.42%. For reference, the previous week, cars decreased by -0.44%.
- The other age units tracked had similar trends last week, with the 0-to-2-year-old down -0.32% and 8-to-16-year-old Cars declining -0.37%.
- All nine Car segments decreased last week.
- The Sub-Compact Car segment reported the largest decline last week at -0.68%. This marks the ninth consecutive week of declines for the segment with an average weekly change of -0.52%.
- Sporty Car has been up and down in recent weeks with small changes, but last week the segment declined -0.18%. Pre-COVID, the Sporty Car segment began to report declines around the beginning of June.
The graph below looks at trends in wholesale prices of 2- to 6-year-old vehicles, indexed to the first week of the year. The index is computed keeping the average age of the mix constant to identify market movements.
Used Wholesale Prices Dip in June
Staff Writer
June 26, 2023
Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 3.2% from May in the first 15 days of June. The mid-month Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index dropped to 217.3, which was down 9.4% from the full month of June 2022.
The seasonal adjustment contributed to some of the decline. The non-adjusted price change in the first half of June declined 2.6% compared to May, while the unadjusted price was down 9.1% year over year.
Over the last two weeks, Manheim Market Report (MMR) prices declined an aggregate of 1.8%. Prices in the first two weeks of June typically decline much less. Over the first 15 days of June, MMR Retention, the average difference in price relative to current MMR, averaged 98.5%, indicating that valuation models remain ahead of market prices. The average daily sales conversion rate of 54.5% in the first half of June declined relative to May’s daily average of 55.8% and was below the June 2019 daily average of 60.7%.
Maintaining the trend that started in March, all major market segments saw seasonally adjusted prices that were lower year over year in the first half of June. Only pickups and vans, at 6.2% and 7.8%, respectively, lost less compared to the overall industry in seasonally adjusted year-over-year changes. The remaining segments lost between 9.6% and 12.5%, with sports cars again losing the most. All major segments also saw price decreases compared to May, with losses ranging from 1.9% to 4.7%. Sports cars were the sole outlier versus the other segments, with a 0.6% gain from May.
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Manheim Upgrades MMR
Staff Writer
June 16, 2023
Manheim has delivered several enhancements to the Manheim Market Report, to make it easier for wholesale buyers and sellers to make more informed decisions. Notably, the company has broadened the coverage of MMR to include more vehicles while making it more responsive to today’s fast-changing market dynamics. Clients will also enjoy a cleaner interface and more trustworthy estimated retail values. And finally, Manheim will now make MMR available to all wholesale marketplaces.
“The market is shifting faster than ever before, and our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that MMR moves at the same speed to reflect data from the Manheim Marketplace in real time,” said Zach Hallowell, senior vice president of Manheim Digital at Cox Automotive. “We’re very excited to offer clients across the industry a better, more accurate and more responsive tool that delivers the information they can use to make smart decisions.”
MMR’s latest updates include:
- More Coverage:Previously, MMR was able to value 97% of all vehicles listed in the Manheim Marketplace. Today, that number is now 98.5%, covering half of the remaining cars that didn’t previously have an MMR value.
- More Accurate: In normal markets, MMR’s 30-day lookback was a trusted indicator of current vehicle values based on past sales. But today’s market swings faster—and now so does MMR. Today MMR is able to take into account broad marketplace fluctuations as they are happening, so it more closely reflects vehicle values in real time.
- More Insights: Understanding the potential retail value of a vehicle is important when buying and selling. In addition to more informed wholesale values, MMR now offers a new-and-improved retail value as well, based on real transaction data from Cox Automotive.
- Better Experience:Clients now enjoy a simplified interface that puts even more information at their fingertips. Thanks to an improvement in the user experience design, they can make better data-driven decisions, faster.
- More Widely Available: Previously, MMR was available to clients through Manheim.com and syndicated to third-party software providers; however, Manheim is now making it available to all wholesale marketplaces across the industry.
Wholesale Prices Slide
Staff Writer
June 13, 2023
Black Book Market Insights report showed declines continued throughout the entire market last week, with the exception of one segment, Sporty Car, which was up only +0.04%. The rate of decline is starting to outpace what is typical for this time of year when compared to a pre-COVID market.
- On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment decreased -0.45%. For reference, the previous week, cars decreased by -0.26%.
- Only one of the nine Car segments increased last week.
- Sporty Car increases are slowing, up a minimal +0.04% last week, compared with +0.38% the prior week.
- Sub-Compact Car reported the largest decline last week, dropping -0.89%. In comparison to the prior week, Sub-Compact Car also had the largest Car segment decline of -0.63%.
- The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment decreased -0.34%, matching the prior week’s decrease of -0.34%.
- All thirteen Truck segments reported a decrease last week.
- Minivans had increased for fifteen consecutive weeks, but the last two weeks have the segment finally showing signs of softening. Last week, the segment declined a very minimal – 0.002%, compared with the prior week’s also small decline of – 0.02%.
- The Mid-Size Luxury Crossover segment reported the largest Truck segment decline last week, down -0.73%.
Black Book: Wholesale Prices Dip
Staff Writer
May 25, 2023
Wholesale price declines continued last week for the overall market and only a few segments are still reporting small increases, according to Black Book Market Insights. The trend for 2- to 8-year-old vehicles, a -0.13% decline last week, is reflective of the other vehicle segments with 0- to 2-year-olds declining -0.12% and 8- to 16-year-old models declining -0.17%.
The Car Segments update:
- On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment decreased -0.16%. For reference, the previous week, cars decreased by -0.15%.
- Only two of the nine Car segments increased last week but increases were minimal with Compact Car increasing +0.03% and Sporty Car gaining +0.01%.
- Sub-Compact Car reported the largest decline last week, down -0.47%. This is the largest decline for the segment since the second week of February.
- Sporty Cars continue to increase, but the rate of gain was the lowest since early January of this year.
The Truck Segments update:
- The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment decreased -0.12%, compared with the prior week’s decrease of -0.16%.
- Ten of the thirteen Truck segments reported decreases last week.
- Full-Size Crossover (+0.29%), Minivan (+0.13%), and Full-Size Pickup (+0.09%) were the only Truck segments to report gains last week.
- Compact Van (-0.46%) and Compact Crossover (-0.43%) had the largest declines.
- Small Pickup declined for the first time in fourteen weeks.
Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 2.1% from April in the first 15 days of May. The midmonth Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index dropped to 225.9, which was down 7.0% from the full month of May 2022. The seasonal adjustment contributed to the decline. The non-adjusted price change in the first half of May declined 0.9% compared to April, while the unadjusted price was down 7.5% year over year.
Over the first two weeks of May, Manheim Market Report (MMR) prices were nearly unchanged compared to the end of April. Prices in the first two weeks of May have been generally flat over the last four years, with average changes between ‑0.1% and 0.1% since 2019. Over the first 15 days of May, MMR Retention, the average difference in price relative to current MMR, averaged 99%, indicating that valuation models remain slightly ahead of market prices. The average daily sales conversion rate of 59.5% in the first half of May declined relative to April’s daily average of 60.3% and was below the May 2019 daily average of 59.9%.
All eight major market segments saw seasonally adjusted prices that were again lower year over year in the first half of May. Only pickups and compact cars, at 3.9% and 6.6%, respectively, lost less compared to the overall industry in seasonally adjusted year-over-year changes. The remaining segments lost between 7.4% and 14.3%, with sports cars losing the most. Seven of the eight major segments saw price decreases compared to April, with losses ranging from 1.7% to 7.0%, while vans were flat.
