LAWRENCEVILLE, Georgia – Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for  September 2021  which increased to 169.5 points,  3.8 points  (or 2.3%) increase from  August  (165.7).  The Index currently stands 29.6% above where it was this same time last year. 

 “With new inventory levels continuing to drop, dealers are increasing their spending on used inventory, pushing wholesale prices up across all segments in September,” said Alex Yurchenko, Chief Data Science Officer at Black Book. “Cars of all sizes and vans  saw exceptionally strong increases. With anticipated limited new vehicle supply (and low incentives) for months to come and lower than typical return volume from rental and commercial fleet companies, we expect the wholesale prices to remain strong throughout Q4.”   

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,  please click here.