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."