Hot August: Subcompacts Lead 1.4% Gain in Retained Values
Black Book’s Used Vehicle Retention Index shows a 1.4% month-over-month increase in August, a month in which all but a few pre-owned segments showed improvement.

Retained values for subcompact cars such as the Toyota Yaris increased by 2.1% in August, setting the pace for improvements in most categories after a largely flat July.
Photo courtesy Toyota Motor Sales USA
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — Black Book (div. Hearst) released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for August (116.6), reporting a 1.4% change from July (115.0).
“The strength of used market was fairly broad in August with almost all vehicle segments registering an increase in the Index. Sub-Compact Cars Index showed the highest increase at 2.1% MOM, highlighting the demand for affordable vehicles,” said Anil Goyal, the firm’s executive vice president of operations. “Near Luxury Cars Index is also showing a bounce off the lows now after declining for the last five years.”
Black Book’s Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles as a percent of original typically equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition.
To read the August report, click here.
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