Monthly Index Has Declined Just Three Times Over Last Ten Months

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 May showing that it increased 0.8% during the month registering 112.9 and up slightly from 112.0 in April. The Index has now changed +0.6% over the last twelve months (112.3). 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. 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.

Reflecting the strong end to the spring selling season, the Index saw 15 total segments with positive or unchanged results within the Index, with Subcompact Cars (1.7%), Compact Crossover/SUV (1.7%), Full-Size Cars (1.2%), and Sporty Cars (1.0%) showing the strongest gains. The Index has now shown a monthly decline in just three of the last ten months dating back to August.

“The used vehicle market is clearly benefitting from strong employment and consumer confidence currently, with many segments of both cars and trucks, large and small, seeing valuation strength over the last several months,” said Anil Goyal, Executive Vice President, Operations. “After spring season, we typically see a decline in values in May. However, this year the used market is fairly stable, resulting in an uptick in our seasonally-adjusted Index.”

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. 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.