Vehicle Market Report: October 2023

In early October, the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) strike persisted, and there was a noticeable decrease in auction activity last week.

Buyers approached cautiously as negotiations with Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors showed slight progress through counteroffers.

Furthermore, sellers, aiming to build on the success of the previous week's auctions, raised their minimum prices. This move was driven by a desire to leverage the strengthened valuations and conversion rates observed in the preceding week.

The UAW strike continued through the month. As a result, the market was currently uncertain, with dealers adopting a "wait and see" approach.

While the overall trend indicates depreciation, the rate of decline is lower than usual for this time of year.

Following six weeks of negotiations, the UAW secured a tentative agreement with Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors in the final week.

The market witnessed more significant declines, especially in the Truck segments, dropping by -0.63% compared to the 0.20% decline in the previous week.

Anticipations suggest that once the strike concludes officially, the market will likely resume its consistent depreciation trajectory until the year's end, according to Black Book experts.

Wholesale Truck Market

The volume-weighted overall Truck segment experienced a decrease of 0.28%, which increased compared to the -0.05% depreciation observed in the previous week in early October.

Among 0-to-2-year-old models, there was an average decline of 0.28%, while 8-to-16-year-old models decreased by 0.23%.

Notably, three out of the thirteen Truck segments saw increases. Small Pickup led with a growth of 0.33%, followed by Full-Size Luxury with 0.17%, and Full-Size Crossover/SUV with 0.07%.

The Full-Size Crossover/SUV segment has increased in two of the past three weeks, averaging a weekly change of +0.10%. Conversely, Minivan recorded the most substantial decline at -1.58% last week.

This segment faced a seventeen-week consecutive decline, with an average weekly change of -0.81%.

As for the final week in October, the volume-weighted overall Truck segment experienced a decline of -0.63%, a notable contrast to the 0.20% depreciation observed in the previous week.

Among 0-to-2-year-old models, there was an average decline of -0.52%, while 8-to-16-year-olds decreased by -0.68%.

Remarkably, all 13 Truck segments saw declines. The Compact Van segment recorded the most substantial decline, dropping by 1.80%.

Despite being a small segment with limited competitors, even slight dollar changes have a significant percentage impact.

 In the Small Pickup segment, the depreciation rate increased last week, falling by 0.63% compared to the 0.24% drop the previous week.

Following two weeks of early-strike increases, the segment is now reverting to the normal depreciation pattern for this time of year.