Page 46 - GIADA-Mar 2018-web

“...it’s a value point for
consumers and a volume
of choice that they
never had before.”

Late-Model Vehicle Volume

Climbs Nearly 34%

By Joe Overby, Senior Editor, AutoRemarketing License

The year has started with a big push in vol- call if the vehicle mix among the off-lease
ume for newer used cars, as nearly 273,000 volume was in line with consumer de-
late-model units made their way into the mand. Renewal
auction market last month. “But the way you have to think about it is,
ketplace three or four years ago, and the Reminder
And that includes massive lifts from some these are vehicles that were put in the mar-
SUV and truck segments. ______
shift had already started towards trucks
That’s according to the latest Guidelines back then and has only accelerated since
report from J.D. Power Valuation Services, then,” Jackson said. “So it’s not ideal, and Deadline
which said auction volume for late-model that then will be reflected in the pricing.
vehicles — i.e. cars from the 2015 through
2018 model years — was up 33.8 percent “But still, it’s a value point for consumers March 31,
month-over-month. and a volume of choice that they never had
before.”
However, January’s late-model auction vol- 2018
ume total was off slightly (down 0.8 per- In a conference call with media earlier this
cent) from the same month a year ago. month, Autotrader executive analyst Mi-
chelle Krebs shared an example of a spe-
The lifts in truck and SUV volume were cific vehicle that’s often turned first in the REQUIREMENTS:
particularly strong, J.D. Power said, with fleet segment and then impacted by the Completed CE Certificate
SUVs topping the industry: There was a appeal of utilities. and
63.1-percent hike for compact premium Upload a current copy of
SUVs and a 24.9-percent jump for large She added how the matter is compounded bond & insurance certificates
SUV volume. with an off-lease surge of popular models.
Looking at the breakdown of late-mod- “With the (Chevrolet) Cruze, that’s a car If you have any questions,
el vehicle volume at auction in January, that has significant fleet sales. When GM feel free to give us a
54 percent were cars and 46 percent were cuts back on fleet, it’s going to hit vehicles call to discuss your
trucks, according to J.D. Power. like the Cruze,” Krebs said.
Georgia Dealer
So cars still dominate the volume. Still, “There’s are going to be a lot of off-lease License Renewal.
the gains in truck and SUV auction vol- utility vehicles coming back into the mar-
ume could be a welcome sign for some who ket so someone might be thinking about a
have found that the mix in vehicles coming brand new Cruze because that what’s they
off lease, for instance, hasn’t reflected con- can afford — and I’m not picking on the
sumer demand on the retail side. Cruze — but they really want a sport utili-
ty. And now they’ve got more choices with
“That is absolutely off-balance,” said Auto- more 3-year-old utilities in the market,”
Nation chief executive Mike Jackson, when she went on to say. n
asked during the retailer’s latest earnings

44 | GIADA Independent Auto Dealer MARCH 2018