Friday, Mar. 13, 2020, 02:08 PM
KAR Global chief economist Tom Kontos joined the parade of wholesale experts who noticed that February prices moved higher.
“The strong start to 2020 continued in February as average wholesale prices were up again month-over-month and year-over-year. Both car and truck prices were up,” he said in his latest Kontos Kommentary released on Friday.
According to KAR Global Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of wholesale used vehicle prices by vehicle model class, prices in February averaged $11,339, representing a 2.2% rise compared to January and a 5.2% increase year-over-year.
“Average prices for full-size SUVs and crossovers were considerably higher than last February as a higher percentage of younger, low-mileage units were sold,” Kontos said.
Kontos and the KAR Global team also took a deeper look at two specific segments of younger, low-mileage vehicles that often characterize off-lease units — midsize cars and midsize SUV/CUVs — holding constant for sale type, model-year age, mileage and model-class segment.
Prices for those particular midsize cars climbed $854 or 7.1% year-over-year to $12,820. Prices for specific midsize SUV/CUVs rose $664 or 3.1% to $20,120.
Elsewhere in the wholesale market, KAR Global reported average wholesale prices for used vehicles remarketed by manufacturers jumped 2.3% month-over-month and up 7.7% year-over-year.
Analysts determined February prices for fleet/lease consignors softened 1.2% sequentially but increased 5.0% compared to a year earlier.
Finally, KAR Global mentioned average prices for dealer consignors in February moved 3.8% higher versus January and 7.8% relative to February 2019.
| Average | Price | ($/Unit) | Latest | Month Versus | |
| February 2020 | January 2020 | February 2019 | Prior Month | Prior Year | |
| Total All Vehicles | $11,339 | $11,096 | $10,775 | 2.2% | 5.2% |
| Total Cars | $8,363 | $8,269 | $8,339 | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Compact Car | $6,538 | $6,277 | $6,484 | 4.1% | 0.8% |
| Midsize Car | $7,320 | $7,278 | $7,352 | 0.6% | -0.4% |
| Full-size Car | $7,771 | $7,462 | $7,780 | 4.1% | -0.1% |
| Luxury Car | $12,660 | $12,649 | $12,633 | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Sporty Car | $13,880 | $13,779 | $13,412 | 0.7% | 3.5% |
| Total Trucks | $13,527 | $13,165 | $12,820 | 2.8% | 5.5% |
| Minivan | $8,289 | $7,933 | $8,367 | 4.5% | -0.9% |
| Full-size Van | $13,168 | $12,864 | $12,287 | 2.4% | 7.2% |
| Compact SUV/CUV | $10,995 | $10,866 | $11,095 | 1.2% | -0.9% |
| Midsize SUV/CUV | $12,279 | $11,897 | $11,234 | 3.2% | 9.3% |
| Full-size SUV/CUV | $16,348 | $13,767 | $13,628 | 18.7% | 20.0% |
| Luxury SUV/CUV | $18,690 | $18,394 | $17,788 | 1.6% | 5.1% |
| Compact Pickup | $11,279 | $10,063 | $9,692 | 1.9% | 16.4% |
| Full-size Pickup | $16,382 | $16,168 | $15,662 | 1.3% | 4.6% |
Source: KAR Global Analytical Services.
Source : AutoFinanceNews
