As auto manufactures are cranking up their factories, previously owned vehicles are beginning to drop. Not to mention Tesla have started production at the Austin facility.
High used car prices are a post-COVID fact of life — but a key data point offers some hope, Matt writes.
Why it matters: An unprecedented surge in used vehicle prices was an early and essential driver of post-pandemic inflation.
What’s happening: The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a gauge of wholesale market prices for used vehicles, dropped for its second straight month.
Wholesale prices for used vehicles — Manheim adjusts for age, mileage and other attributes — are now 5.4% lower than their January peak of $21,754.
Typically, Manheim’s prices, which reflect sales to auto dealers, are a leading indicator of the prices consumers see at the lot a couple of months later.
The big question: Whether the recent dip proves short-lived, given the fresh supply chain snarls set off by the war in Ukraine and China’s most recent round of lockdowns.