Black Book, a division of Hearst Business Media that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for July, showing the Index unchanged from June and resting at 113.0. The Index has now moved positive or unchanged in three of the last four months. Click here to obtain a copy of the latest index data.

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. The Index offers an accurate, unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values.

Full-Size Cars, Full-Size Pickups, Luxury Cars, and Near-Luxury Cars all saw noticeable gains in their respective segment Indexes during July. Pickups remain popular because of the price of gas and overall supply in the market, while each of these car segments offer decent value currently, resulting from several months of sharp valuation declines over the last few years.

“What we’re experiencing over the last few months are signs of a resilient used vehicle market, where the bottom is not dropping out as some had expected this year,” said Anil Goyal, Senior Vice President of Automotive Valuation and Analytics for Black Book. “We’re paying close attention to several car segments, in particular, Compact Car and Mid-Size Car which continue to weaken as demand remains soft and used supplies build. In addition, the overall economy and credit availability conditions will influence the retention strength moving forward.”

The Index dates back 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. A leading provider 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 Business media, 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.