But attempts by dealers to drive used car transaction prices even higher, by raising used car asking prices even further when listing online, are proving difficult with the gap between listing and delisting prices getting even wider and now approaching $5000.

The Cox Automotive data tracks the asking prices of used cars when they are first posted online by dealers as a measure of the dealers’ highest expectations.
The data, gathered by Cox’s AutoRadar service, also tracks the price of the same cars when they are delisted as an indicator of the transaction prices achieved.
The August data is showing a widening gap between listing prices (what dealers were hoping for) and the indicative transaction prices (delisting price).
It is now running at a record $4719, up from $4476 in July and topping the previous all-time high gap of $3983 in May 2020 when dealers were clearing out used cars at the onset of COVID.
In October last year the gap was just $153.

Meanwhile in August dealers were asking an average of a record $40,692 on listing, up from $40,005 in July and $39,279 in June.

The average delisting (indicative sale) price in August was $35,973 compared with $35,539 in July. These numbers were both down slightly on the average delisting price of $36,135 in June but shows that the underlying price support for used cars is holding for now.

In terms of stock holdings, newly-added used vehicles in August totalled 47,886, up from 44,127 units, July and up from 46,340 in June.

Active used vehicles listed for sale in August totalled 82,911 nearly 2000 more than in July (81,101 units). June had 79,211 active vehicles.

One feature of the market in August was the fact that there were more vehicles added (47,886) than were delisted or sold (44,794).

Commenting on the numbers, the general manager of retail and data at Cox Automotive Australia Michael Clarke told GoAutoNews Premium: “There are various macroeconomic factors driving the conditions in the market right now which is shifting the supply and demand balance that has been the backbone of recent trends.

“While the data is showing the ongoing divide between list and delist prices, there are additional considerations around model mix not being highlighted at this high level. Diving deeper into the data we can see that the difference is also being driven by a shift in stock holding with dealers acquiring higher valued, late model inventory.

We are also seeing an increase in days to sell against these late model vehicles while lower-priced vehicles continue to turnover faster. This contributes to the growing divide.

“Our ongoing recommendation is for dealers to utilise market insight tools, like AutoRadar, overlayed across their inventory to ensure their stock moves in line with market demand and, as new vehicle supply starts to free up, that dealers prepare to mitigate risk against any potential ageing inventory.

“The trends continue to demonstrate the need to utilise digital tools that allow dealers to effectively manage, acquire and dispose of stock more strategically which is why we at Cox Automotive are so excited to partner with dealers to create a more sustainable strategy.”

By John Mellor