Late Start to the Spring Selling Season Perhaps Pulling Down the Index Early in 2019

 Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for February (114.5), a -0.8% change from January (115.4). The Index has also fallen -1.0% over the last twelve months. Click here to obtain a copy of the latest index data.

The overall index continued its decline for the third month in a row. All segments except for Full-Size Van (+0.56%) showed a decline this past month, with most luxury vehicle segments showing the largest declines.

In fact, segments such as Midsize Luxury CUV/SUV (-2.13%) and Sub-compact Car (-2.29%) saw some of the largest single-month declines in over a year in the Index.

“The start of the spring selling season appears to be late this year, perhaps from slower and smaller tax refunds this year, as well as the harsher-than-normal winter weather patterns across much of the country, said Anil Goyal, Executive Vice President, Operations. “March should be a very telling month not only for spring, as it may likely set the tone for the remainder of the year.”  

The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original typically-equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition. The Index offers an accurate, representative, and unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values.

The Index dates to January 2005, where Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market. During 2008, the index dropped by 14.1% while during 2016, the index fell by just 6.4%. During 2011, the index rose strongly from 113.3 to 123.0 by the end of the year as the economy picked up steam and used vehicle values rose higher. It continued to remain relatively stable, rising slightly until May of 2014 when it hit a peak of 128.1.

To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index, please click here. 

About Black Book

Black Book® is best known in the automotive industry for providing timely, independent and accurate vehicle pricing information, and is available to industry-qualified users through online subscription products, mobile applications and licensing agreements. Since 1955 Black Book has continuously evolved to ensure that it achieves its goal of delivering mission-critical information to its customers, along with the insight necessary to successfully buy, sell, and lend. Black Book data is published daily by National Auto Research, a division of Hearst, and the company maintains offices in Georgia, Florida, and Maryland as well as the Canadian Black Book in Toronto. For more information, please visit BlackBook.com or call 800.554.1026.