Used-Car Market Struggles With Shortage of
Low-Mileage Vehicles, Leading to Price Decline and Influx of
High-Mileage Inventory
CHICAGO, Aug. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS)
(d/b/a "Cars Commerce."), an audience-driven technology company
empowering the automotive industry, outlines shifts in the
automotive industry in its July Industry Insights Report. This
comprehensive report, crafted by Cars Commerce's expert data
analysts, delves into macro and micro automotive market insights by
analyzing supply, demand, pricing and consumer behavior data from
across the company's platform, including Cars.com®,
Dealer Inspire® and Accu-Trade®.
"Over the past year, new-car prices have remained steady at
around $49,000. Supply levels
continue to increase, with the most significant inventory rise in
mid- to high-priced vehicles," said Rebecca
Lindland, senior director of industry data and insights at
Cars Commerce. "Currently, there are just 333,000 new vehicles
priced under $30,000 on the Cars
Marketplace versus July 2019, when
there were 1.1 million. If the average new-car price had continued
on its typical 3% annual growth rate from 2019, today's average new
car price would be $43,000. To get
prices back on track, the industry would need to add more than
750,000 sub-$30,000 vehicles to the
market, the same number of under-$30K
vehicles lost since 2019."
Used-Car Market: Scarcity of Late-Model-Year Vehicles and
Declining Prices
In contrast to the new-car market, the used-car market is facing
availability challenges, particularly sourcing low-mileage, lightly
used vehicles. Year over year, used-car prices decreased 6% and
inventory edged up 1% primarily driven by an increase in the
stock of vehicles under $30,000.
Prices for used vehicles under $30,000 have dropped by 3% year over year, with
inventory in this segment increasing 9%. The availability of
vehicles priced between $30,000 and
$49,000 decreased by 15% year over
year, reflecting the scarcity of 1-to-3-year-old vehicles typically
found in this price range.
"Notably, used vehicles priced under $20,000 now carry an average of 93,000 odometer
miles as of July 2024, up 33% in the
last five years. These high-mileage vehicles may require
significant service to remain roadworthy," adds Lindland. "The
shortage of low-mileage, lightly used inventory is especially
noticeable in the higher-end used-vehicle market. For the
over-$50,000 used-vehicle segment,
the average price is $77,000, which
is more than the average cost of a new luxury vehicle."
To download the full report,
visit www.carscommerce.inc.
*Inventory, searches and list price on Cars.com. A
third-party cyber incident impacted dealer inventory data beginning
June 19, 2024.
ABOUT CARS COMMERCE™
Cars Commerce™ is an audience-driven technology
company empowering the automotive industry. Cars Commerce™
simplifies everything about car buying and selling with powerful
products, solutions and AI-driven technologies that span pretail,
retail and post-sale activities – enabling more efficient and
profitable retail operations. The Cars
Commerce™ platform is organized around four
industry-leading brands: the flagship automotive marketplace and
dealer reputation site Cars.com®, award-winning
technology and digital retail technology and marketing services
from Dealer Inspire®, essential trade-in and appraisal
technology from Accu-Trade®, and exclusive in-market
media solutions from the Cars Commerce Media Network. Learn more at
www.carscommerce.inc.
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SOURCE Cars Commerce
