Wholesale vehicle auction sales improved modestly on a prior-year basis in August, rising by nearly 3% compared to August 2024 on a selling-day adjusted basis, according to a monthly report from AuctionNet released Sept. 8.

By comparison, commercial vehicle sales were 10% higher than in August 2024 and 2% better than in July.

In a strong point, commercial vehicle sales comprised 64% of total sales of vehicles up to 2 years old through August. Commercial vehicles have driven the increase for the 2-year-old group, with sales up 28% year-to-date. 

The growth in 2-year-old commercial vehicle sales reflects, in part, more rental cars being sold at auctions than last year. By comparison, dealer sales of 2-year-old units were up a lesser 16% over the period. 

Across vehicle age groups, combined, dealer and commercial sales of units up to two years old grew by 21.5% year-over-year in August and just over 8% versus July. 

Auction Sales Down Since July

Overall, wholesale auction sales were down 1% from July’s strong 9% improvement (both versus July 2024 and June 2025). 

August’s performance placed sales year-to-date at about 6% higher relative to the first eight months of 2024 (selling day adjusted). 

In other key auction sales segments:

• July saw dealer sales grow by a strong 9% year-over-year and 10% versus June, but dealer sales softened noticeably in August, dropping 1% compared to August 2024 and 4% versus July (selling day adjusted). 

• Sales of 3-year-old vehicles continued to erode last month, falling by more than 21% compared to last August. Commercial sales for the group were even more depressed, dropping 30% year-over-year. The drop in 3-year-old commercial volume corresponds with the decline in new lease originations that occurred in 2022. 

• Similarly, 4-to-5-year-old vehicle volume continued to be depressed in August, with sales down 10.4% versus last year.

• Continuing long-running trends, mainstream car sales continued to fall, dropping by nearly 13% year-over-year in August, while Crossover/SUV sales, both mainstream and luxury, moved higher. 

• Pickup sales fell for only the third time this year, slipping 1.6% relative to last August, while van sales tumbled 16.1%.

• Electric vehicle sales at AuctionNet auctions exceeded 14,350 units overall in August, +46% on a prior-year basis. Year-to-date, 104,000 electric vehicles have been sold at AuctionNet auctions, a figure that is in striking distance of the 109,000-unit total sold over all of 2024.

• Wholesale prices slipped 0.4% month-over-month in August, placing prices 5.7% higher than in August 2024. 

• Year-to-date, depreciation stands at low 2.2% (January through August), compared to a decline of 5.4% over the period last 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.