Jun 2021

Manheim Experiences Slowing Pace of Used-Vehicle Prices

The biggest U.S. auction house, Manheim, sells millions of vehicles every year claims that the wholesale market has already topped out and that the prices of individual secondhand cars will follow in the coming weeks. Soaring prices for secondhand vehicles have helped push U.S. inflation to the highest in more than a decade. “Wholesale prices as of right now are at their peak and should start to come down,” Zo Rahim, industry analyst at Cox Automotive, said. “We are seeing a decelerating pace of price increases in the first two weeks of June, compared to what has been just an absolute surge.”

Manheim’s wholesale index of used-vehicle value was 36% higher than a year earlier as of mid-June –- down from an annual rate above 50% in April. One effect of higher prices has been to push the average age of vehicles on U.S. roads up to a record 12.1 years in January.