Commercial activity continued to power the upward trend in auction sales, with far more 1- and 2-year-old off-rental vehicles sold at auction in January than one year ago.

Wholesale auction sales started off 2026 on a solid note despite the numerous winter storms that hit large swaths of the country in January, according to January sales numbers released Feb. 6 by AuctionNet.

Total sales rose by 2.2% year over year (selling day adjusted) and sales were also more than 16% higher than December’s holiday-shortened result.

Powerful Commercial Vehicle Sales

As in 2025, commercial activity continued to drive the upward trend in auction sales. Commercial auction sales were 14% higher this January than last year, while dealer sales were 6.5% lower.

Yet again, far more 1- and 2-year-old commercial vehicles (off-rental) were sold at auction last month than the prior year, with sales 60% higher year over year. January’s performance for the cohort followed December’s 53% increase. Overall sales of 1-to-2-year-old vehicles (i.e., both dealer and commercial) rose 37.4% year-over-year last month.

For the first time in more than a year, commercial sales of 3-year-old vehicles (which include a heavy mix of off-lease vehicles) posted a stronger year-over-year result last month, with volume up 1.5% compared to January 2025. 

The slight improvement has its roots in the increase in new lease originations that occurred in 2023. Dealer sales of 3-year-old vehicles were down more than 5.5% on a prior-year basis.

Segment-level sales remained true to long-standing trends, with car volume down an average of 3% year-over-year and truck and utility volume up by just over 8%.

• Van auction sales tumbled 21.6%, due in part to far fewer Chrysler minivan sales than last January. 

• Electric vehicle sales continued to post gains, although the group’s roughly 40% prior-year improvement was below the 47% growth rate averaged in 2025.

Wholesale Auction Prices Point To Strong Q1

Finally, wholesale auction prices finished the month at 3.5% and 0.3% above January and December 2025 levels, respectively. 

While it’s not uncommon for auction prices to increase month-over-month in January, often, the rise in prices observed over a given first quarter doesn’t occur until February. For example, prices fell 2% from December 2024 to January 2025. 

This could indicate that dealers expect stronger first-quarter retail sales than usual, given that individual tax refunds are expected to reach all-time highs this year.

Monthly AuctionNet data is derived from 265 National Auto Auction Association member auctions that use AuctionNet, and is considered the most comprehensive source of wholesale auto auction sales data in the U.S.