Used-vehicle values continued their fall in December, though it wasn’t as steep as that seen a year earlier.

Cox Automotive data show a 7% year-over-year drop in its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 204, more than it had predicted.

The peak of used values came in December 2021, and they ended the year down 21% from that, Cox said.

The year-end closer signaled more of the same to come.

“For 2024, the key word for the wholesale market is ‘normalcy.’ Manheim expects constrained growth with a volume increase of less than 1%,” said Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke in a press release.

“As for price patterns, we anticipate a normalization trend, and we expect that 2024 will be the first year in five where we will experience fairly normal depreciation in the wholesale market.”

Used-vehicle retail sales were accordingly up for the month by 3% month-over-month and 1% year-over-year.

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