Courtesy of Black Book.

Courtesy of Black Book. 

The Black Book used vehicle retention index grew 0.6% month-over-month to 114.6 in October, according to the firm. This marks the second straight monthly rise for the index.

The firm attributed the consecutive monthly rise to replacement activity stemming from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. However, the increased replacement activity seen in October is expected to be the last boost to come from the hurricanes.

“So far this year, we have seen a very strong performance for used vehicle value retention, driven largely by the surprising value shoppers found in the affordable smaller cars after spring, and the huge demand resulting from hurricane replacements in the fall,” said Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics for Black Book.

During October, compact crossovers/SUVs, full-size cars, full-size crossovers/SUVs, and full-size pickups saw some of the strongest value retention due to increased demand in the month.

However, the forecast for the remaining two months of the year doesn’t look as bright. Goyal noted that he expects the market to see a slight decline by year’s end. Even still, he affirmed that used vehicle values should end higher than expected earlier this year.

Originally posted on Auto Rental News

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