LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia –  Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuations and residual value forecast solutions, today released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for July 2022. The Index decreased to 189.4 points, a 2.2-point (or 1.1%) drop. The Index currently stands 17% above where it was at the same time in 2021 and 65% above March 2020, pre-pandemic.

“Wholesale prices reversed the trend at the end of June for the 2-8-year-old vehicle segments that comprise of Black Book’s Retention Index” said Alex Yurchenko, Chief Data Science Officer at Black Book. “High gas prices, inflationary pressure, and global events kept consumer confidence low. Even with the lack of adequate new inventory, used retail demand continued to soften which finally pushed wholesale prices down.

“During the last week of July, we saw all segments decreasing in value, including Full-Size Vans (with some segments dropping by more than one percent per week). We expect the wholesale prices to accelerate their declines in August as consumers are staying away from large purchases.”

The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original typically equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition. The Index offers an accurate, representative, and unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values.   

To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index,  click here.