Canadian wholesale values hold strong; government pauses iZEV program
The week ending Jan. 18 was a relatively strong one for Canadian wholesale used-vehicle values.
The overall market was down just 0.17% for the week, according to Canadian Black Book’s weekly Market Insights report, with seven of the 22 segments gaining value.
Midsize cars rose 0.35% ($59) to lead the way, with luxury cars ($54, 0.16%) and full-size cars ($6, 0.03%) also on the plus side among car segments, which overall declined by just 0.05%. The largest drops in that sector came from compact ($48, 0.34%) and sub-compact ($43, 0.32%) cars.
Trucks/SUVs dropped 0.27% as a whole, with subcompact crossovers (up 0.25, $39 minivans (up 0.09%, $20) and small pickups (up 0.08%, $22) peeking their heads above the break-even point.
On the down side, five segments lost more than $100 in value, led by full-size pickups, which plummeted by $237 (0.72%). Mid-size luxury crossover/SUVs fell $153 (0.40%), followed by full-size luxury crossover/SUV ($152, 0.25%), full-size crossover/SUVs ($131, 0.36%) and compact vans ($112, 0,57%).
Once again, monitored auction sale varied wildly, ranging from 19.1% to 71.7% with an average of 46.2%, the result, CBB said, of the recent adjustments to interest rates and an ongoing gradual decline in floor prices, and the 14-day moving average retail listing price held steady at $34,950.
CBB analysts noted some major news affecting the industry, notably the Canadian government’s pause of federal iZEV rebate program for Canadians who purchased a fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle. The program, launched in May 2019, helped roughly 546,000 zero-emission vehicles into the hands of consumers.
CBB said Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen have said they will honor the program’s $5,000 incentive through Jan. 31.
The report also noted the Honda Civic has regained its spot as the best-selling passenger car in Canada. It ranked No. 1 for 24 consecutive years before falling to second behind the Toyota Corolla in 2022 and ’23.
The U.S. wholesale market dropped 0.57% last week, down from the previous week’s 0.81% but still above the pre-pandemic average of 0.43%.