Used Supply Grows

After spring used-vehicle sales failed to meet seasonal expectations, used inventory in the U.S. had its own spring bounce last month.

Used-vehicle inventory across franchised and independent dealers rose 3% month-over-month in April, up 6% year-over-year to 46 days’ supply, or 2.27 million units. That’s up by one day over March, Cox Automotive said.

The winding down of tax refunds, along with continued high prices and interest rates, combined to temper sales. Due to the affordability issues, the exception to the supply bounce continued to be among vehicles priced under $15,000, whose days’ supply was just 36, Cox said.

The month’s top five sellers’ average selling price was $23,316, 9% under the average for all vehicles, sold, according to Cox. They were Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Nissan, whose combined sales made up nearly 50% of used vehicles that moved in April.

The South was the region with the tightest used supply, Cox said.