Wholesale used vehicle prices increased 8.96% month-over-month in May 2020, bringing the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 137%, which is 1.9% lower than it was at the same time in 2019.

Improvements were seen in the Manheim Market Report (MMR) prices over the last four weeks, resulting in a 5.1% cumulative increase on the three-year-old index, Manheim found. MMR Retention was strong through May, and reflected that vehicles were selling above current MMR values, showing a reversal of what happened in late March and April due to COVID-19.

Year-over-year, all major market segments saw seasonally adjusted price declines in May, Manheim said. Luxury cars outperformed the overall market while most major vehicle segments underperformed. 

Used vehicle sales volume were down 22,4% year-over-year for May, according to Manheim. It estimates the May used seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR)  to be 32.0 million, down from 39.2 million last May but up from April’s 27 million rate.

Meanwhile, wholesale prices are beginning to stabilize as the excess supply of used vehicles continues to come down; used retail supply peaked at 115 days on April 8. Normal used retail supply is about 44 days’ supply. It ended May at 33 days.

Year-over-year, May total new vehicle sales were down 30%, with the same number of selling days compared to 2019. The May SAAR came in at 12.2  million, a decrease from last year’s 17.4 million but up from April’s 8.6 million rate.