Wholesale used car prices up year-over-year in Nov.

In November, wholesale used vehicle prices rose year-over-year for the first time since August 2022.

By the numbers: The Manheim Used Vehicle Index, which tracks prices that car dealerships pay for used cars at auctions, revealed that depreciation continues to slow with prices increasing 0.2% from a year ago.

• From November to December, prices in the Three-Year-Old Index fell further by 0.9%. Yet – wholesale values usually fall more this time of year historically, typically around 1.2%

• The average daily sales conversion rate was 55.6%, a decline of 1% month-over-month. But the conversion rate is higher than it has been over the past three years (~50.7%).

• Manheim Market Report (MMR) Retention, which measures how closely average auction transaction prices align with market value, averaged 99.6%.

Key quote: “Wholesale values gave back a little bit of the strength we saw earlier in the month but depreciated less than what we normally see in November,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. 

“The Thanksgiving holiday usually slows down the market, and it did this year, although it was very late in the month from a timing perspective. This slowdown caused a slightly sharper decline in values at month-end than usual.”

By segment: Compact car sales rose by 0.2% compared to October, and midsize cars saw a 0.9% increase. SUVs gained 1.5% and pickups were higher by 0.6%, while the luxury segment rose 1.7%. Non-EV declined by only 0.1% in November, with EVs increased by 0.2% Yet, nearly all major market segments saw seasonally adjusted prices that remained lower year-over-year, except sedans which bucked the trend.

Bottom line: Tight supply in wholesale and retail used car markets will likely keep prices propped up while spurring dealer demand through the end of the year.

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