Compact Vans, Crossovers Fare Best at May Auctions

Used compact vans and several categories of crossovers increased in value in wholesale sales, while luxury vehicles made up seven of the 10 lowest performing categories among 2013-2017 vehicles in May, according to Black Book.

Vehicles from those model years depreciated 0.3% in the month with cars falling 0.7% and truck-based vehicles essentially flat with a 0.1% decline. All vehicles fell 14.1% in value from a year ago. The month was an improvement over May of 2017, which saw a 1.2% decline from April of that year.

"After a strong spring, we are now beginning to see a higher depreciation pattern returning to many of the car and truck segments," said Anil Goyal, Executive Vice President, Operations at Black Book. "Unless demand driven by a strong economy continues to build, we expect the used vehicle market to begin seeing more depreciation as we get deeper into the summer months."

Fleet-category vehicles performed well, including compact vans, which increased 0.5% in May to $10.197. Full-size pickups increased 0.2% to $22,920. Small pickups increased 0.1% to $20,194.

Despite the slight dip in total vehicle values last month, eight segments saw positive changes in May, led by sporty cars (1.1%). Subcompact crossovers finished with the next highest change in valuation on the month (0.7%). This segment finished May with an average price of $10,698, a 13.8% decline from a year ago.

Luxury cars finished with the highest depreciation on the month and were down 1.6%. Vehicles in this segment finished with an average price of $18,215, a 10.8% decline from year-ago levels. Three other segments finished the month with a depreciation rate of 1.1% during May, including midsize luxury SUVs, prestige luxury cars, and near luxury cars.

Related: Cars Outpace Trucks, Vans in April Depreciation

Originally posted on Automotive Fleet