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December 2020 Kontos Kommentary

The following commentary is produced monthly by Tom Kontos, Chief Economist, KAR Global. KAR Global is a leading provider of wholesale used vehicle auctions and ancillary remarketing services.¹

Summary

Average wholesale used vehicle prices fell from their August peak for the fourth month in a row in December, yet finished out the year almost 10% higher than year-ago levels. Full-year CPO sales were down in 2020, but only modestly considering the pandemic and the fact that 2019 was a record year.

Details

According to KAR Global Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of wholesale used vehicle prices by vehicle model class, wholesale prices in December averaged $12,161—down 2.2% compared to November, up 4.9% compared to pre-COVID/February and up 9.9% relative to December 2019, as seen in the table below.

Prices fell on a month-over-month basis for all model classes, with car segments generally falling more than truck segments. When holding constant for sale type, model-year-age, mileage, and model class segment—using criteria that characterize off-lease units—prices were up on a year-over-year basis for both midsize cars and midsize SUV/CUVs in December, as seen in the following table:

 The following graph shows trends in average prices throughout the pandemic, using the same criteria:

Though auction prices have tapered since reaching their peak in August, prices remained up on a year-over-year basis at year-end for all model class groupings, especially pickup trucks. CPO sales were up 23.6% from the prior month but down 2.1% year-over-year in December, according to figures from Autodata. On a full-year basis, CPO sales were down 7.1%. Additional retail sales trends are available via .