Canadian Black Book’s recently released Used Vehicle Retention Index for December 2024 reveals a decrease to 135.7 points from November’s 136.2 points. Year-over-year, the index slipped 7.6%.
In its update CBB said the declines seen in the Canadian wholesale market last year were “mostly front ended,” as the declines slowed during the fourth quarter of 2024. “This was mainly linked to the decline of the Canadian dollar and the increase in activity of the export market,” said David Robins, Senior Manager and Head of Canadian Vehicle Valuations at Canadian Black Book, in a statement.
As a reminder, the index peaked in March of 2022 after reaching 165 Index points. Prior to that peak the index had experienced unprecedented growth in used values starting in the late summer of 2020. At that time the index was low, at 100.5 points. In comparison, the index was launched in January 2005 with a value of 100.0 for the market.
CBB calculates the index using its published Wholesale Average value on two to six-year-old used vehicles, as a percent of original typically equipped MSRP. “It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition,” they said.
