THE CAR AND TRUCK FLEET AND LEASING MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE
The average price for used fleet vehicles fell 2% at auction in October, but remained 6.1% higher than a year ago amid a strong month for wholesale prices, according to Tom Kontos, KAR Auction Services' chief economist.
Deprecation was low through most of 2018. Segments such as sedans performed better than they have in years past, while trucks and SUVs continue to retain their values well.
ALG has named Subaru and Land Rover as the winners of its 2019 Residual Value Awards for the overall mainstream and premium brand categories, according to a company announcement.
Ford and Toyota had the most models named as having the best certified pre-owned value among 37 segments by Vincentric, the vehicle valuation firm announced.
Wholesale compact van values experienced the biggest decline at auction last week, depreciating 1.03% week-over-week.
General Motors Financial Company Inc. reported operating lease originations for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2018 at $17.3 billion, compared to $19.6 billion for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2017.
Record-setting orders for new Class 8 trucks are apparently not creating a used-truck glut, if used-truck prices are any indication. However, the growth in prices is expected to slow.
Prior to 2018, sedans at auction had experienced three years of consecutive value declines. For sedan-heavy fleets, this may have meant an impact to total cost of ownership for those vehicles, as profits from remarketing them would have suffered. Now companies with sedan-heavy fleets may be finding that a window of opportunity to remarket those vehicles for better profit has emerged.
Vehicles from fleet consignors followed the broader used-vehicle market downward in September, as wholesale prices struggled to keep up with last year's hurricane-driven demand and a now robust upstream market, said Tom Kontos, KAR Auction Services' chief economist.
Six pickup trucks made the top-10 list of vehicles that retain the highest percentage of their value after a five-year ownership period, along with two Jeeps, a Subaru, and the Toyota 4Runner. At the other end of the spectrum, the Nissan Leaf saw the highest depreciation over the same period.
While luxury vehicles continue to struggle, overall vehicle values held steady last week, according to Black Book’s Oct. 8 Market Insights report.
Segments such as compact cars and mid-size cars are outperforming the overall market. Meanwhile, vans, utility vehicles, and pickups are under performing the overall market.
Edmunds is forecasting 1,392,434 new vehicles sales through September, representing a 5.4% decline from March and an 8.3% decline from the same time last year.
Used-vehicle auctions have started resuming regular business hours following the effects of Hurricane Florence, which had less of an impact on the U.S vehicle market than Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017.
The average value of used fleet vehicles increased 1.5% in August from the prior month and are now up 8.5% from a year ago, according to Tom Kontos, KAR Auction Services' chief economist.
The 2018 Conference of Automotive Remarketing (CAR) detailed the biggest topics concerning wholesale remarketing, and also elaborated on technological developments that may impact the industry as a whole. Read the full story here. Photos by Andy Lundin.
View more photos
