[From Cox Automotive] Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix, mileage, and seasonally adjusted basis) were down in February compared to January. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI) fell to 203.8, a decline of 13.1% from a year ago. The index was down 0.1% against the month of January 2024. The seasonal adjustment magnified February’s results. The non-adjusted price in February increased by 1.7% compared to January, moving the unadjusted average price down 11.0% year over year.

“Though February activity was muted as we started the month, we saw more activity in the lanes at Manheim in the second half of the month and finished the last week of February with some of the strongest weekly gains in wholesale prices for many years,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of Economic and Industry Insights for Cox Automotive. “Tax refunds have picked up over the last two weeks, with the average refund now 4% higher than 2023 levels at this time. This has put money into consumers’ pockets, and retail purchase activity is increasing. In turn, dealers are coming to the lanes and buying units at Manheim right at the start of the spring selling season for wholesale markets.”

In February, Manheim Market Report (MMR) values saw above-average weekly increases for most of the month and ended February on a high note. Over the last four weeks, the Three-Year-Old Index increased an aggregate of 1.6%, including a rise of 0.8% in the last week of the month. Those same four weeks delivered an average increase of 0.8% between 2014 and 2019. Over the month of February, daily MMR Retention, which is the average difference in price relative to the current MMR, averaged 99.9%, meaning market prices were just below MMR values but moved higher than January. The average daily sales conversion rate increased to 61.0%, which indicates that demand was improving relative to January, normal for this time of year. For comparison, the daily sales conversion rate averaged 58.6% in February during the last three years.

The major market segments saw seasonally adjusted prices that remained lower year over year in February. Compared to February 2023, luxury lost less than the industry, down just 12.0%, and SUVs performed a little better than the industry, declining 12.8%. Compact cars continued as the worst performers year over year, down 16.5%, followed by midsize cars, off by 15.1%, and pickups, down 14.3%. Compared to last month, trucks lost 1.4%, and compact cars were down 0.2%. Declining less than the market overall, midsize cars were up 0.8%, and both luxury and SUVs increased 0.3%.

With the increase in interest in electric vehicle (EV) values versus the non-EV market, we are working on sharing metrics for those segments. Seasonally adjusted EV values for February 2024 were down 15.0%, while non-EVs were down 12.0% year over year. If we look at values against last month, seasonally adjusted EV values increased 1.0% from January 2024, while non-EVs increased by 0.3% over the same period.