Canadian wholesale vehicle prices for cars and trucks have now declined for a tenth consecutive week and the Canadian dollar set another two-year high, according to Canadian Black Book’s latest COVID-19 update.
Its report from December 22 indicates that the car segments declined in wholesale value by 0.15% on average from the previous week and that trucks were down 0.44% — the largest decline for the segment since late May. In comparison, U.S. wholesale used vehicle prices were down 0.72% for cars and 0.50% for trucks.
As the year closes the auto industry was originally projected to reveal small declines in new and used vehicle sales and a slow softening of wholesale prices (among other things), based on CBB. A record year of lease returns was also anticipated, along with a small boost in market supply for pre-owned vehicles. Instead, the auto industry is dealing with the “largest decline” in new vehicles sales “since the Second World War.”
“To facilitate that, the economy witnessed the largest increase in unemployment ever recorded with modern data, a huge retraction in GDP growth, all followed by equally spectacular rebounds, across many sectors,” said CBB in its report. A roller-coaster or perhaps a pandemic bungee jump into the unknown may begin to describe the volatility of 2020.”
With lockdowns in both Quebec and Ontario lasting until slightly before and after mid-January, and with both provinces together representing 61% of the Canadian population, CBB expects 2020 to have “a weak ending” and 2021 to have “a very slow start” for new and used vehicle sales.
To view the full report, click here.
