July’s used-vehicle prices on the wholesale market increased 2.6% year over year, pushing the Manheim Used-Vehicle Value Index to 140.5. Comparatively, July 2018 saw an abnormal increase in both prices and sales volume due to tariff concerns, making comparison to last year “particularly tough,” the report notes.
While July usually sees a 1% decline in value for three-year-old vehicles compared with the prior-month period, this year’s prices remained flat.
Meanwhile, new-vehicle sales increased 2.1% year over year. However, the July seasonally annualized adjusted rate came in at 16.8 million units, compared with last year’s total of 16.9 million units.
In addition, new-vehicle inventories were under 4 million units for the third straight month, their lowest level since September 2018.
Further, consumer confidence was the highest it’s been all year, jumping 9.2% from July 2018. However, consumers’ expectation to purchase a vehicle in the next six months “did not see a corresponding jump,” according to the report.
