Cars Outpace Trucks in Lost Value
Black Book’s latest Market Insights Report finds used cars continue to depreciate faster than light trucks, but strong incentives for new cars indicate sustained demand for some types.

Pre-owned full-size cars such as the Chrysler 300 depreciated by an average of 0.77% in Black Book’s latest weekly report, but incentives for new full-size cars stood at 13% of MSRP, tied for third-highest among all vehicle types.
Photo courtesy Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The latest Market Insights Report from Black Book (div. Hearst Automotive) finds full-size cars leading all categories in depreciation but holding their own in available incentives. Values for pre-owned full-size cars fell by 0.77% compared to the prior four-week period, contributing to an average decline of 0.41% for all car segments.
Used SUVs, CUVs, trucks, and vans fared better, declining in value by an average of 0.23%. Values for subcompact cars and subcompact luxury crossovers were flat and prices for compact vans fell by only 0.01%. Minivans led all truck categories in depreciation, registering an 0.4% decline.
Meanwhile, incentives for new-vehicle purchases remained strong for several car types, led by luxury (14.5% of MSRP), near-luxury (14.3%), and compact and full-size (both 13%). Minivan incentives stood at 11.2%; small pickups had the lowest incentive level among all vehicle types at 5.2%.
Analysts noted the figures for Black Book’s latest report were collected during the Thanksgiving holiday week, when auction traffic is disrupted.
“Used-vehicle values were stable with the abbreviated auction schedules last week, and most auto auctions experienced lower demand,” noted Anil Goyal, the firm’s executive vice president of operations.
To read the full report, click here.
More Dealer Ops

Dealership Profits Decline
While new and used retail sales stagnated, dealerships have been particularly supported by fixed operations and finance-and-insurance profits, according to a new report.
Read More →
Dealer Debrief: Defection Data & EV Updates
In this week's debrief, host Lauren Lawrence discusses how to use defection data to your advantage and the latest on EV sales and charging infrastructure.
Read More →
How Defection Data is Bridging the Dealership Conversion Gap
Lead volume is flat, cross-shopping is up and brand loyalty is in retreat. As confident sales teams keep losing buyers they thought they had, daily industry sales data is showing dealers exactly where their funnel is breaking and how to fix it without buying a single new lead.
Read More →
Dealer Debrief: Where are you losing customers?
In this week's debrief, host Lauren Lawrence discusses the hidden leaks in dealerships where you might be losing customers without even realizing it.
Read More →
Dealer Debrief: Improving Your Inventory Management
In this week's debrief, host Lauren Lawrence covers a new survey that shows what service technicians really want and two launches that could help improve your inventory and vehicle life cycle management.
Read More →
Ladies and Gentlemen, This Is a Dealership: Why the Fundamentals Still Decide Who Wins
A teaching moment by a legendary football coach happens to apply perfectly in the auto retail space. Learn what it is and how to use it to your store’s advantage.
Read More →
Dealer Ads and the FTC
The agency has made it clear in recent enforcement actions and warnings, in auto retail and other industries, that advertised prices must include all nonoptional costs to the consumer.
Read More →
Used Autos Supply Dwindles
The March shopping surge, despite high prices, cut into inventory by the most since the thick of the pandemic, Cox Automotive analysts calculated.
Read More →
Managing Risk Effectively Through Changing Times
The variables influencing risk pricing have changed significantly over the past five years. Being proactive and responsive to emerging trends is not optional but essential.
Read More →
Survey Reveals What Won't Fix What's Breaking Car Sales
AutoPayPlus says extra-long auto loans are trapping consumers and threatening the dealer trade-in cycle, and that the industry is leveraging the wrong tools to combat high MSRPs.
Read More →
