Canadian wholesale car market shows signs of ‘more traditional year’
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Typically, the early innings of the fourth quarter show modest sequential increases in used-vehicle value depreciation in Canada.
And in the latest wholesale car market data, “we’re noticing exactly that,” says Daniel Ross, director of strategic market insights at Canadian Black.
On Wednesday, CBB released its latest monthly Used Vehicle Retention Index, which came in at 126.4 for October.
That’s down 0.88% month-over-month and off 7.8% year-over-year.
That slight sequential drop is typical for October, Ross said in an analysis.
“The second half of 2026 has been reminiscent of a more traditional year,” Ross said. “This has allowed the Canadian market to act more singularly, largely due to current tariff conditions and a decrease in the push/pull effect from U.S. buyers.
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“This can definitely be seen in the highs and lows of last month’s market, with characteristic value fluctuations between our segments,” he said. “Based on affordability, we see smaller passenger cars like subcompact car leading positive value trends, while full-size crossovers and pick-ups are falling in part because of deteriorating U.S. buyer interest and high fuel prices.”
The “push/pull” from the U.S. market could be impacted by Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Democrats gained control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.
“Looking forward, news from the recently concluded U.S. midterm election suggests that we may see a reprieve from U.S. tariffs,” Ross said. “We hope this comes to fruition, as it could bring back some of the buying pressure Canadian operators have been used to seeing in auction lanes. But these are early days.”
As for the final week of October, CBB’s latest Market Insights report shows overall wholesale market prices were down 0.32%, compared to a 0.4% drop the prior week. The average for the same weeks of 2017-2019 was a decline of 0.37%, CBB said.
Truck and SUV segments decreased 0.31% for the week ending Oct. 31, compared to a 0.33% dip the previous week. The decline in car segment values slowed from 0.50% to 0.33%.
