Used vehicle inventory hit its highest point since the COVID pandemic in October, up nearly 5% year over year.
But even with the added options, demand remained strong and prices only fell slightly, according to the latest CarGurus Intelligence Report.
Driving the news: Used vehicle supply hit 50.4 days in October, with inventory increasing 2.2% from September.
Year over year, inventory is up 4.8% and above the November 2019 index.
Late models, 3 years and younger, provided 60% of the year-over-year increase, with models one year or younger now representing almost 20% of the inventory.
CarGurus’ Director of Economic and Market Intelligence Kevin Roberts told CDG News the added late-model inventory comes from several channels, including off-lease and dealer fleets.
No drop in demand: Demand for used vehicles remains strong, even outpacing the growth in inventory, jumping 5.8% from last October.
The increase in available vehicles under 3 years old has met demand, with sales up 40.4% from October 2025 and now making up a 42.9% share.
Demand for vehicles between 4 and 7 years old dropped 6%.
“A lot of the growth is happening in the nearly new segments, one- and three-year-old used vehicles, and then the eight-plus category,” Roberts said. “...The logic is that people getting priced out of the new side of the market are likely moving over to the used side of the market, which is helping put upward demand there.”
Used prices decline slightly: While supply and demand increased, used vehicle prices fell to $29,800, a 0.7% decrease from September.
It is the first time in six months that the average has been below $30,000.
Prices are still $985 above October 2025 prices, and the share of listings below $15,000 fell 3% in the past year.
Vehicles under $25,000 have less than a 50-day supply.
New vehicle inventory increases: New vehicle inventory continues to rebound from the low point in August, jumping 6% from last month.
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Inventory remains below 2025 and 2024 levels for October.
The inventory picture varied by brand, with GM and Stellantis adding approximately 10% of vehicles year-over-year, and Ford and Honda dropping inventory by 8% and 13%.
Demand, prices slip: New vehicle prices fell back by $300 in the past month to $51,600 and are running $2,100 above October 2025.
New vehicle demand was down 1.8% versus October 2025.
Supporting the strong sales reports from October, Toyota, Hyundai and Honda saw growth year-over-year in demand share.
Toyota, with less than 10% of the inventory, had 21% of sales and is the only brand with vehicles staying on the market less than 40 days.
Pointing to Toyota’s dominance in the market, Roberts noted that fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrids, continue to be most in demand, with gas prices at record highs for the fall.
“Consumers are still feeling the high gas prices. They like more fuel-efficient vehicles,” Roberts said. “Automakers really pulled back on EVs, and so hybrids are really the winning powertrain right now. And unfortunately for the market, there aren’t that many automakers that have hybrids out there. It limits who can win in the current environment where we're seeing that powertrain growth.”
Bottom line: The used market continues to see consistent demand even as inventory increases heading into the final two months of the year and just before dealers start picking up inventory for next tax season. Roberts suggests dealers look for fuel-efficient options, including hybrids and EVs as options.
“We are seeing a lot more used EVs come into the marketplace. They tend to be younger; they tend to have fewer miles on them,” Roberts said. “It’s a real kind of opportunity for consumers looking for fuel-efficient, younger vehicles in the current market. It could be a winning proposition.”
On the new side, Roberts noted continued headwinds from rising interest rates and elevated prices.
“I think there are real opportunities on the new side, if we can see incentives rise to really maybe end the year on a positive note on the new vehicle side,” Roberts said.
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