Canadian used vehicle wholesale prices continued to trend up for the week ending on March 19, with car segments up 0.30% (compared to the previous week’s 0.15% increase) and trucks/SUVs up 0.55% (down 0.01% from a week earlier), according to Canadian Black Book’s Auto Market Update.
“Yet again, this week’s performance was much better than seasonal norms (2017-2019) for the overall market, with truck/SUV segments again leading the strong market performance,” said CBB in its report. “Cars continued to pick up momentum with a stronger up-tick in prices, compared to the previous week, that was much stronger than historical performance (2017-2019), while truck/SUV segments again outperformed historical weekly price changes (2017-2019).”
Most car segments managed a weekly increase: subcompact cars paved the way with an 0.88% increase, followed by sports cars (+0.86%) and full size cars (+0.72%). Compact cars were also up (+0.61%), along with near-luxury cars (+0.41%), luxury cars (+0.26%), mid-size cars (+0.09%), and premium sports cars (+0.02%). However, it’s worth noting that the prestige luxury car segment was the only segment that experienced weaker prices during this period — with a decline of 0.26%.
As for trucks, compact crossovers/SUVs lead segments (and the market) with the largest weekly increase at +1.12%. This was followed by mid-size crossover/SUVs (+1.00%), subcompact crossovers (+0.75%), and small pickups (+0.72%). However, the compact luxury crossover/SUVs (+0.12%), although still in the positive, had the weakest performance for the second week in a row. This was followed by the sub-compact luxury crossover category (+0.17%).
On average listing prices, these continued their upward trend last week (the 14-day moving average is now slightly over $24,860). The 28-day moving average has also started to climb up and is now experiencing steady increases. The analysis is based on approximately 130,000 vehicles listed for sale on Canadian dealer lots, according to CBB.
“We remain optimistic about our expectations for retail prices, as seasonal trends would point to a continued increase in prices as we continue to reap the benefits of the strong market,” said CBB. “Although there is still uncertainty around the impact of current stay-at-home orders and social distance measures, and the degree to which these measures may cool off the Spring selling season, all signs currently point to a continued strong market.”
On the industry side, production issues continue to impact automakers, with Honda and Toyota having both announced new cuts to production last week. Their particular issue is not related to the global microchip shortage, but instead to “a shortage of petrochemicals.”
To read CBB’s full report, click here.
