Amid macro-economic headwinds, used-vehicle sales fall 16% in May

Though there was a bit of improvement from April, used-vehicle sales in May were down double-digit percentages on a year-over-year basis, says Cox Automotive, noting that spikes in interest rates, fuel costs and vehicle prices have dampened the market.

The average APR on a used vehicle rose to 9.23% in May, up from 9.16% in April, according to Edmunds, whose data shows the used-car APR has been above 9% for three straight months. 

The national average for regular unleaded fuel hit an all-time high of $5.016 on Tuesday, according to AAA. In a Valuation Services Intelligence Report, J.D. Power said wholesale vehicle prices were up 21% year-over-year last month and retail used-car prices were up 14%.

“And, unlike last year, there are no stimulus checks to provide some help,” Cox Automotive senior economist Charles Chesbrough said in a Data Point report Tuesday.

The estimated 3.18 million overall used-car sales in May beat April’s 3.08 million, but were down from 3.79 million a year ago, according to Cox. Looking only at transactions involving a dealer, there were 1.68 million used-car sales last month.

That bested April’s 1.63 million retail used-car sales, but fell well short of the 1.98 million used-vehicle sales at dealerships in May 2021, the Cox data shows.

The overall used-car SAAR came in at 36.8 million for May, compared to 34.7 million in April and 44.0 million a year ago.

The retail used-car SAAR was at 19.4 million, versus 18.3 million in April and 23.0 million in May 2021, according to Cox.

Through five months of 2022, there have been an estimated 15.88 million overall used-car sales, a 12.7% year-over-year decrease, Cox data shows. There have been an estimated 8.37 million used-vehicle sales at dealerships, an 11.9% decrease.

Specifically, here is how sales how trended in each month of 2022, according to the Cox data:

Total Used-Car Sales

Retail Used-Car Sales