Given the widespread challenges from vehicle inventory shortage and supply chain issues, there was a 10% year-over-year decline in the number of units that entered the lanes of NAAA-member auctions last year, according to the association’s annual industry survey.  

There was also a 4.6% drop in the number of cars that entered auction lanes and were sold, NAAA said.

But despite these hurdles, the association did uncover some bright spots in its annual survey of member auctions.

“I’m proud of our member auctions for their dedication and perseverance during a year that experienced significant change in the automotive industry,” NAAA chief executive officer Tricia Heon said in a news release.

“While the number of vehicles flowing through the lanes decreased, our industry saw many positives such as the increase in average vehicle price and the significant jump in total dollar sales,” Heon said. “Our members proved once again that they can rise to the challenge and are committed to advancing our industry.”

Getting into specifics, there were 7.5 million units sold at NAAA-member auctions last year, the association said. That represented more than $121 billion in total dollar sales, as the gross value of estimated total vehicle sales climbed 21%.

The average price per unit was $16,154, a 27% increase, the study found.

Close to two-thirds (64%) of vehicles that entered the lane were sold.

Robert A. Casey Consulting of Burke, Va., conducted the survey on behalf of NAAA.

Consignment trends

The lion’s share of vehicles sold at auction (60.1%) was from dealer consignment, NAAA said.  A little more than a third (33.9%) were lease/fleet/repo vehicles and 5.3% was factory volume. Meanwhile, 0.7% came from other sources.

As for the conversion rates of those consignment segments, 62.4% of dealer consignment that entered the lane was sold and 65% of lease/fleet/repo was sold.

OEM consignment had a 71.4% conversion rate, with the “other” category at 81.3%.

Overall, the average conversion rate was 63.8%.

How volumes have trended in 2022

Separately, J.D. Power provided an update on auction volumes thus far in 2022.

Through two months of the year, wholesale auction sales of used vehicles up to 8 years in age are down 15% year-over-year, with most of that softening happening in the premium segment.

That’s according to the latest Wholesale Market Update from J.D. Power Valuation Services, which said there was a combined total of approximately 594,000 of these sales in January and February.

In the first two months of 2021, auction sales volume was at 695,000.

Premium segment volumes have declined 39%, with 69,000 units of vehicles 8 years old and newer moving through the lanes. Mass market sales are off 10% at 525,000 units, according to J.D. Power.

More data on 2021 trends

Earlier this year, Auto Remarketing reported on similar findings from the AutoIMS Industry View report, a quarterly report the company describes as a “compendium of metrics and insights featured in the AutoIMS Sales Scorecard reflecting the entire U.S. AutoIMS footprint — a vast majority of the commercial sales volumes at wholesale, physical auto auctions in the U.S.”

Starting with conversion rates, those came in at 68.33% in the fourth quarter, up from 64.36% from the same period of 2020.

Turning to the sales numbers, after peaking in the spring, sales volume spent most of 2021 at a lower level than 2020 numbers, sitting between 20-30% softer throughout Q4.

“Conversion rates remain elevated, although you see that sort of softening coming into November and December. But 68% is still a high number the fourth quarter, especially historically,” Joe Miller of AutoIMS said in an interview with Auto Remarketing when the report was released. “The story there is definitely about the volume crunch.”

Especially when considering AutoIMS’ data set, which examines commercial consignment, not dealer cars.

“So, we’re looking at the rentals and fleets and the off-lease, and all that stuff that continues to just be super, super tight,” Miller said. “The dealers are grabbing almost everything they can get before it gets to the auction. We see what’s kind of leftover (and) that makes it to the auction.”

Average sale prices came in at $16,351.47 in Q4, beating the year-ago figure of $13,398.81. The full-year 2021 average was between $15,000 and $16,000.