We recap the motor vehicle markets trends from Q4 2017, highlighting the best-selling U.S. cars, trucks, and current used vehicle market conditions.
New Vehicle Sales
WardsAuto 10 Best-Selling U.S. Cars and Trucks
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WardsAuto U.S. Light Vehicle Sales by Company
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Current Used Vehicle Market Conditions
December 2017 Kontos Kommentary
By Tom Kontos Executive Vice President, ADESA Analytical Services
The following commentary is produced monthly by Tom Kontos, Executive Vice-President, ADESA Analytical Services. ADESA is a leading provider of wholesale used vehicle auctions and ancillary remarketing services.
As part of the KAR Auction Services family, ADESA works in collaboration with its sister company, Insurance Auto Auctions, a leading salvage auto auction company, to provide insights, trends and highlights of the entire automotive auction industry.
Summary
With the impacts of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma having lasted primarily from late-August through mid-November, wholesale prices in December returned to patterns seen prior to those events. Namely, prices for cars continue to soften while prices for trucks were up.
Details
According to ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices by Vehicle Model Class1, wholesale used vehicle prices in December averaged $10,804—up 0.1% compared to November and up 1.5% relative to December 2016. However, car prices were down both month-over-month and year-over-year, while the opposite was true for truck prices. When holding constant for sale type, model-year age, mileage, and model class segment, midsize car prices were down on a year-over-year basis, while midsize SUV/Crossover prices were up, as seen in the following table:
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Although Midsize SUV/CUV prices were up in December in this analysis, the increase was modest compared to September through November. This may be indicative of a cessation in truck demand growth in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Average wholesale prices for used vehicles remarketed by manufacturers were down 3.3% month-over-month but up 8.3% year-over-year. Prices for fleet/lease consignors were down 1.9% sequentially but up 0.4% annually. Average prices for dealer consignors were down 0.1% versus November and up 3.6% relative to December 2016.
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Based on NADA data, December retail used vehicle sales by franchised and independent dealers were down a combined 3.4% year-over-year, after being down in October and November as well. December CPO sales were up 9.0% from the prior month and down 4.8% year-over-year, according to figures from Autodata.