COVID-19 cases continue to fall rapidly. Daily cases numbers are back to late December levels. Even with cases down, consumer sentiment, according to the University of Michigan, declined again in the initial February reading. Inflation picked up again in January to record the highest level of year-over-year inflation in 40 years. Wholesale used-car prices did … Continued
Certified pre-owned (CPO) sales in January fell to 166,309 units. This total is down nearly 11% from December’s 186,748 and down nearly 17% from January 2021. January’s CPO result is the lowest monthly total since April 2020. CPO sales have been in decline since having strong sales in Q2 and Q3 of 2021. January 2022 CPO Sales … Continued
Lexus squeaked by BMW as the most-shopped luxury brand in the fourth quarter of 2021, a spot the German brand had held for the past three years, according to the Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch™ report. But Tesla is right behind both. The Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch report is a consumer perception survey that … Continued
Access to auto credit expanded in January according to the Dealertrack Credit Availability Index for all types of auto loans. The All Loans Index increased 0.4% to 102.0 in January, reflecting that auto credit was easier to get in the month compared to December. Access was looser by 7.6% year over year and compared to … Continued
New-vehicle average transaction prices (ATPs) decreased to $46,404 in January 2022, according to new data released today by Kelley Blue Book, after reaching a record high in December 2021. Prices fell 1.8% ($839) month over month mostly due to fewer luxury vehicles being sold in January, but prices remain elevated compared to one year ago, up 12.5% … Continued
Manufacturers continue to prioritize retail over fleet, with sales into large fleets falling 48% month over month in January to 97,707 units. JANUARY 2022 FLEET SALES Combined sales into large rental, commercial, and government buyers were down 36% year over year in January. Sales into commercial increased 4% year over year. Sales into rental declined … Continued
Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) were essentially unchanged in January compared to December. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index increased slightly to 236.3, which was a 45.0% increase from a year ago. The non-adjusted price change in January was a decline of 0.9% compared to December, leaving the unadjusted … Continued
The January employment picture was much brighter than expected, as the omicron wave of COVID-19 failed to make a major dent in the tight job market. Job creation, wage growth and workforce participation gained as jobless claims fell. New-vehicle sales were down 10% in January. The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales improved to … Continued
Hot new products and more plentiful inventory pushed the Ford brand to No. 1 in shopping consideration in the fourth quarter of 2021, a spot Toyota had held for nearly four years straight, according to the Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch Report for non-luxury vehicles. The Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch Report™ is a consumer perception … Continued
I participated in a panel discussion titled Electric Vehicle Strategies: Driving Mass Market Uptake earlier this week at the BloombergNEF Summit in San Francisco. Bloomberg set the stage of the discussion by stating that policy mandates and subsidies characterized the first phase in the global electric vehicle (EV) market, but now organic consumer demand is … Continued