Used-Vehicle Depreciation Remains Unchanged in April
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The average price of a used vehicle for model years 2009–2013 remained unchanged in April, with zero percent registered depreciation, according to data from Black Book.
Domestic cars increased 1.1% for the month while import cars decreased 0.8%. Domestic trucks increased 1.5% and import trucks inched down 0.2%. Before the recession, average annual depreciation was between 15% and 18%. For 2015, Black Book expects depreciation to be near 14.5%.
Premium sporty cars and luxury cars saw the largest segment depreciation at 1.3% and 1%, respectively. Vehicles in the premium sporty cars segment had an average price of $45,048, a 13.6% decrease from year-ago levels.
Compact SUVs retained the most value for the month at 2.8%. Vehicles in this segment finished April with an average price of $19,783, representing only a 3.9% decrease from year-ago levels.
Prompted by the spring tax season, entry-level cars, upper mid-size cars and full-size cars saw increases of 0.1%, 1.0% and 0.1%, respectively, in April. In the truck market, full-size cargo vans, compact CUVs and full-size passenger vans also posted monthly increases of 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.
“The fact that we’re looking at overall unchanged depreciation levels across used-vehicle segments in late April is a testament to the stretched spring season we’ve had this year,” said Anil Goyal, vice president of automotive valuation and analytics for Black Book. “Looking ahead, it will be interesting to see if the remainder of the year will outperform market expectations.”
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