AuctionNet wholesale auction sales neared 526,000 units in September, up 5.7% from the prior year, according to figures released Oct. 21. 
Sales volume fell 2.8% compared to August (selling day adjusted). Sales through the year's first nine months reached 5.11 million units, an 8.7% improvement over 2023's YTD total. 
Dealer and commercial sales finished the month up 0.7% and 16%, respectively, compared to last September. Year-to-date, commercial sales growth stands at +25.6%, while dealer sales are down 1.5%. 
Commercial sales grew by an average of more than 28% per month over the first seven months of the year compared to the prior year; however, growth has averaged a lesser 14.7% per month since August. 
"This isn't a surprise given that off-lease volume was expected to begin to wane over the second half of the year and given that rental wholesale sales were expected to flatten out as volume stabilized following a prolonged period where it was well below normal," said Larry Dixon, vice president of auction data solutions for the National Auto Auction Association, in prepared comments. "Considering that new vehicle sales into rental and commercial fleets are down year-to-date, we should expect to see the flattening trend continue."

5- and 3-Year-Old Vehicle Sales Show Solid Growth

Auction sales of vehicles up to 5 years old – which includes most off-lease, rental, and fleet company sales – rose 5.4% compared to last September (or slightly less than the 5.7% increase in overall auction sales). Within this age group, 3-year-old volume was up nearly 20% compared to last September, while growth for 1-to-2- and 4-to-5-year-old vehicles averaged a lesser 1.5%. 
The solid growth in 3-year-old volume indicates that there is still room for off-lease sales. However, the 17% improvement in 3-year-old volume averaged over the past two months is less than the nearly 26% average rise observed over the summer. 

Mainstream Car Sales Decline

Mainstream car sales followed August's 14% drop with a 10.5% decline in September, and year-to-date, auction sales of less expensive compact cars, specifically, are down 2.4% (lower availability of more affordable compact and midsize cars helps exacerbate affordability challenges for used vehicles overall).
Crossover/SUV sales rose double-digits again on a prior year basis in September, which reflects the group's dominance in new vehicle sales overall (car and light truck share of new vehicle sales was 53% and 47%, respectively, back in 2014; the ratio was 80% and 20% last year).

Electric Vehicle Auction Sales Soar Over 2023 Levels

Regarding electric vehicles, September marked the third time this year that EV auction sales fell materially monthly, dropping 3.2% from August on a selling day-adjusted basis. That said, sales were up 46% compared to September 2023. 

Through September, total EV auction sales stood at just over 81,000 units, +82% versus 2023, while nearly 78% of auction sales were for EV units up to 5 years old. Tesla has represented the lion's share of EV volume YTD (57%), and Tesla models continue to comprise several of the top-selling luxury models each month. For example, 2021 versions of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were the top two luxury models – EV or otherwise – sold in September 2024. 
Monthly AuctionNet data is derived from 265 NAAA member auctions that use AuctionNet. It is considered the most comprehensive source of wholesale auto auction sales data in the U.S.