Lane watch: February closes with ‘robust performance’
Fueled in part by strengthening values of compact cars and a Tesla Cybertruck hitting the wholesale market, “February concluded with robust performance,” Black Book said in its latest weekly report.
Analysts reinforced their assertion because overall depreciation was just 0.16% during the week that included Leap Day and the first two days of March.
Black Book also estimated that the average weekly sales rate improved to 55%, “alongside a decrease in auction inventory relative to the previous week.”
What does it all mean for a month that often has the word “madness” attached because of college basketball?
“There’s an optimistic outlook suggesting this positive momentum could extend into March,” Black Book said in its latest installment of Market Insights released on Tuesday.
“Adding to the dynamic atmosphere, a Tesla Cybertruck fetched a price exceeding its MSRP by over $100,000 at a Wednesday auction, underscoring the unpredictability and excitement inherent in the auto industry,” analysts continued in the report.
While compact cars likely weren’t drawing bids of more than $100,000 above MSRP, Black Book did point out that values compact cars rose 0.41%, representing the largest price gain for the popular tax season units since last April.
Analysts added prices for compact cars now have risen eight weeks in a row.
On a volume-weighted basis, Black Book indicated overall car prices decreased just 0.10% last week.
Values for cars up to 2 years old ticked down just 0.08%, while depreciation for cars 8 to 16 years old came in at 0.16%, according to Black Book tracking.
One more note about compact cars: Analysts mentioned values for those units up to 2 years old rose by 0.38%. They added even older compact cars between 8 and 16 years old squeaked out a 0.05% value rise last week.
Black Book reported eight of the nine car segments decreased in value last week, paced by the near luxury and prestige luxury car segments that each depreciated by 0.58%.
Also, perhaps in another nod toward the spring market, analysts said, “The rate of depreciation for the sporty car segment is slowing down, with a modest decrease of 0.05% last week, which is an improvement from the 0.10% decline noted the previous week.”
Turning to trucks, Black Book determined that its volume-weighted information showed overall truck values decreased 0.18% last week, which was 2 basis points more than a week earlier.
No matter the age, truck depreciated on average at nearly the same pace last week. Analysts watched units 2 years old and new decline by 0.11% and units 8 to 16 years old drop by 0.12%.
Black Book mentioned two truck segments gained value last week with minivans making a notable price jump of 0.30%. Black Book said prices for small pickups also ticked up 0.05%.
Following four weeks of average value growth at 0.17% per week, analysts pointed out the full-size crossover/SUV segment experienced a downturn last week, declining 0.28%.
Black Book added the compact luxury crossover/SUV segment paced the truck value declines last week, sagging by 0.50%.
With dealers perhaps watching bouncing basketballs and wholesale values for the remainder of March, Black Book said, “As always, our team of analysts are focused on keeping their eyes on the market, watching for developing trends and gathering insights.”