LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia –  Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for  February 2021 (132.3), a  3.4  point (or 2.6%) increase from  January (128.9).  Click here to obtain a copy of the latest index data.

   “We continue to see tremendous strength of used car prices across all segments."

   “We continue to see tremendous strength of used car prices across all segments,” said Alex Yurchenko, SVP, Data Science and Analytics. “Fueled by the shortage of inventory at the wholesale market and issues with new vehicle production, prices continued to climb in February. The Full-size  Pickup Truck segment remained strong with its Index increasing by 3.4 points and currently being 23% above its February 2020 level. The Sporty Car segment increased by 4.3 points and stands at 21% above 2020 levels.”   

The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original  typically equipped  MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition. The Index offers an accurate, representative, and unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values.

The Index dates to January 2005, where Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market. During 2008, the index dropped by 14.1% while during 2016, the index fell by just 6.4%. During 2011, the index rose strongly from 113.3 to 123.0 by the end of the year as the economy picked up steam and used vehicle values rose higher. It continued to remain relatively stable, rising slightly until May of 2014 when it hit a peak of 128.1.     To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index, click here.