Canada’s used wholesale vehicle market continued to soften in the week ending Jan. 31, with prices down 0.32 per cent, marking a slightly steeper decline than the previous week, according to market data from Canadian Black Book.
CBB said car segment prices fell 0.19 per cent, while truck and SUV values declined 0.43 per cent. The overall market decline compares with a 0.35 per cent average drop recorded during the same week between 2017 and 2019.
Among car segments, the sharpest decreases were seen in compact cars, down 1.02 per cent, followed by sub-compact cars at 0.85 per cent and mid-size cars at 0.56 per cent. Sports cars and prestige luxury cars recorded smaller declines, while premium sporty cars stood out as the only car segment to post a gain, rising 0.19 per cent.
Truck and SUV segments also trended lower. Compact vans posted the largest decline at 1.28 per cent, followed by sub-compact crossovers and SUVs at 0.94 per cent. Mid-size luxury crossovers/SUVs and full-size vans each declined 0.56 per cent. Minivans edged higher by 0.03 per cent, while full-size and compact crossovers recorded comparatively modest declines.
Auction conditions remained volatile, according to CBB. Sale rates ranged from 32.9 per cent to 75 per cent, averaging 53.8 per cent, as sellers continued to support firm floor prices amid economic and political uncertainty. Roughly half of all segments experienced average value movements greater than $100. While supply increased at the start of the year, upstream channels continued to receive priority access to inventory, with demand for high-quality vehicles remaining steady on both sides of the border.
At retail, used vehicle prices continued to ease. The 14-day moving average listing price slipped to $36,800, based on approximately 205,000 vehicles listed on Canadian dealer lots.
In other news, OEMs and policymakers faced a shifting landscape this week, with Canada preparing to release an updated National Automobile Strategy expected to address future EV sales mandates.
In the U.S., Tesla confirmed plans to wind down production of the Model S and Model X as it reallocates capacity toward autonomous and robotics initiatives. Meanwhile, minivans emerged as the fastest-growing new-vehicle segment in Canada last year, posting a 34 per cent sales increase, while a mandated review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement is scheduled for July 2026.
