March Used Vehicle Wholesale Performed Exceptionally Well, J.D. Power Finds

Staff Report

Monday, April 30th, 2018

In their April 2018 Used Car and Light Truck Guidelines Industry Update, analysts at J.D. Power Valuation Services found that wholesale prices of used vehicles up to 8 years in age increased by an average of 2.5%. The month's performance can partially be attributed to strong price growth of vehicles within the compact and subcompact segments.

Highlights from the free monthly report also point out:

  • The used vehicle price index increased

    • Index was up 0.9 points to 115.9

  • New vehicle deliveries rose

    • Sales increased by 6.4%; new vehicle SAAR reached 17.40M

  • Incentive spending increased

    • Incentives grew for the 36th straight month

David Paris, executive analyst at J.D. Power Valuation Services said, "The strong performance we saw this past month has a lot to do with the compact and subcompact car prices that were the strongest in the industry. Compact car prices grew by 4.3% and subcompact car prices grew by 4.6%. Those results are about 2.5 points better than each segment's previous 5-year average for the period."