The decline in Canadian wholesale vehicle values last week slowed from the previous week but still remains above the pre-COVID average. And sales rates at auction were hamstrung by a few market values, coming in just above 18% for the week.

That’s according to the latest Market Insights report from Canadian Black Book, which said there was a 0.27% overall decline in wholesale prices last week, compared to a 0.34% drop the week before.

From 2017-2019, the average for the same week was a decline of 0.24% CBB said.

The decline in truck and SUV segments moved from 0.35% to 0.33%, but remained ahead of the 2017-2019 average (0.22%). Meanwhile, the drop in car prices was basically cut in half, falling from 0.34% to 0.18%.

From 2017-2019, the average price change in car segments for this week was a decline of 0.26%.

More than half (about 54%) of overall segments saw their prices move by more than $100, CBB said.

On the truck/SUV side, the most significant decline percentage wise was for subcompact crossovers, which fell 0.87%, while the biggest dollar-figure change was for full-size crossover/SUV which were down $363, according to CBB.

Four truck/SUV segments increased in price, including the compact van segment, which rose 1%.

Among the car segments, luxury cars had the steepest drop percentage-wise (down 0.5%), while prestige luxury cars had the largest dollar-figure decline ($255). Three car segments increased in price, led by subcompact cars (up 1.01%).

Meantime, the sales rate was somewhat sluggish.

“Monitored auction sale rates ranged from 6.9% to 29.8%, averaging 18.4%, influenced by seasonal trends, political conditions, and firm seller floor prices,” CBB said.

“Auction inventory increased slightly, though upstream channels continue to receive priority access. Demand for high-quality vehicles remains strong on both sides of the border.”