Wholesale Used-Vehicle Prices Increase in November

Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) were higher in November compared to October. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) rose to 205.4, an increase of 0.2% from a year ago. The seasonal adjustment to the index amplified the change for the month, as non-seasonally adjusted values declined slightly. The non-adjusted price in November decreased by 0.1% compared to October, moving the unadjusted average price down 1.0% year over year.

“Wholesale values gave back a little bit of the strength we saw earlier in the month but depreciated less than what we normally see in November,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. “The Thanksgiving holiday usually slows down the market, and it did this year, although it was very late in the month from a timing perspective. This slowdown caused a slightly sharper decline in values at month-end than usual. However, tight supply in wholesale and retail markets will support healthy dealer demand through the final month of the year.”

In November, Manheim Market Report (MMR) values saw weekly decreases every week, with larger declines seen in the last two weeks of the month. Over the last four weeks, the Three-Year-Old Index decreased an aggregate of 0.9%, including a drop of 0.3% in each of the last two weeks of the month. Those same four weeks delivered an average decrease of 1.2% between 2014 and 2019, indicating depreciation trends were less than typical, especially earlier in the month.

Over the month of November, daily MMR Retention, which is the average difference in price relative to the current MMR, averaged 99.6%, meaning market prices moved much closer to MMR values in November and were higher than October levels. Compared to November 2023, valuation models were higher by six-tenths of a point on MMR retention and one-tenth of a point higher than 2019 levels for the same period.

The average daily sales conversion rate fell to 55.6%, a decline of one point against last month yet much higher than we normally see at this time of year. For comparison, the daily sales conversion rate averaged 50.7% in November over the last three years. November typically shows a lower conversion rate due to the impact of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Most major market segments experienced seasonally adjusted prices that were down year over year in November, although sedans bucked the trend and rose. Compared to November 2023, the midsize sedan segment was the only group to outperform the market, rising by 0.3% in the period. Performing worse than the overall industry, SUVs fell just 0.2%, compact cars and luxury were down 1.4%, and pickups continued the trend of showing the most depreciation, declining by 2.3% year over year.

Compared to October, a few segments were better than the industry overall. The luxury segment rose 1.7% against October 2024, and SUVs showed a gain of 1.5%. While all segments rose against the prior month, several rose less than the industry as midsize sedans increased by 0.9%, pickups were higher by 0.6%, and compact cars rose just 0.2% over the period.

Looking at the market by powertrain, both electric vehicles (EVs) and non-EVs were higher against October. Seasonally adjusted EV values for November 2024 continued to show stronger depreciation trends and fell by 11.4%, while non-EVs were down only 0.1% year over year. Looking at the change against October, seasonally adjusted EV values rose less than the overall market, increasing by 0.2% from October 2024, while non-EVs showed more appreciation, rising 1.3% over the same period.

Retail Used-Vehicle Sales Increased in November

Assessing retail vehicle sales based on observed changes in units tracked by vAuto, initial estimates of retail used-vehicle sales in November were up 5% compared to October and higher year over year by 15%. The average retail listing price for a used vehicle increased 0.4% over the last four weeks.  

Using estimates of retail used days’ supply based on vAuto data, an initial assessment indicates November ended at 46 days’ supply, down one day from 47 days at the end of October and down nine days from November 2023 at 55 days.

New-vehicle sales in November were up 10.1% from last year, and volume increased 1.3% from October. The November sales pace, or seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), came in at 16.5 million, up 1.0 million from last year’s pace and higher than October’s revised 16.3 million level.

Combined sales into large rental, commercial, and government fleets decreased 4.6% year over year in November. Including an estimate for fleet deliveries into dealer and manufacturer channels, the remaining new retail sales were estimated to be up 15.5% from last year, leading to an estimated retail SAAR of 13.6 million, up 5.3% from last year’s pace and up from October’s estimated 13.5 million level. Fleet share was estimated to be 12.6%, down from last year’s 16.7% share.

Rental Risk Price and Mileage Results Were Higher in November Than Last Year

The average price for rental risk units sold at auction in November increased 0.8% year over year. Rental risk prices also rose by 0.7% compared to October. Average mileage for rental risk units in November (at 48,700 miles) rose just 0.6% for the month against last year’s level. For the month of November, rental unit average mileage was down 7.3% from October 2024.

Measures of Consumer Confidence Improved in November

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® increased 2.8% in November, which was about as expected, and October’s index was revised higher. Consumers’ views of the present and of the future both improved. Consumer confidence was up 10.6% year over year. Plans to purchase a vehicle in the next six months declined slightly from what had been the highest level since December 2019 in October but remained much higher year over year. The sentiment index from the University of Michigan increased 1.8% in November, which was lower than expected as the earlier reading in November was higher. With the final monthly increase, the index was up 17% year over year. The underlying views of current conditions and future expectations moved in different directions, with current conditions declining and consumer expectations improving to the best level since March. Expectations for inflation in one year declined to 2.6% from 2.7%, but expectations for inflation in five years increased to 3.2% from 3.0%. The consumers’ views of buying conditions for vehicles declined as views of interest rates declined, but the view of buying conditions remained much better than a year ago. The daily index of consumer sentiment from Morning Consult extended the streak of increases to five straight monthly gains. The index was up 5.6% for the month, which left the index up 16.5% year over year. According to AAA, the national average price for unleaded gas was $3.05 per gallon in November, down 2.3% from the end of October and down 6% year over year.

The next complete suite of monthly MUVVI data will be released on Jan. 8, 2025. The Q4 MUVVI call will be held on Jan. 8 at 11 a.m. EST. Register to attend.

For questions or to request data, please email manheim.data@coxautoinc.com. If you want updates about the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, as well as direct invitations to the quarterly call sent to you, please sign up for our Cox Automotive newsletter and select Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index quarterly calls.

Note: The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index was adjusted to improve accuracy and consistency across the data set as of the January 2023 data release. The starting point for the MUVVI was adjusted from January 1995 to January 1997. The index was then recalculated with January 1997 = 100, whereas prior reports had 1995 as the baseline of 100. All monthly and yearly percent changes since January 2015 are identical. Learn more about the decision to rebase the index.