Amid a modest uptick in used-vehicle prices from the previous month, December’s wholesale increases were led by gains in the larger vehicle categories, as these segments were ahead of the market curve in the year’s final month thanks largely to more moderate gas prices, according to the RVI Group.

More specifically, the RVI Used Car Price Index was 1.45 in December, up 0.6 percent from November and a 12.5-percent hike from December 2010.

“The primary reason for wholesale values increase continues to be the low supply. Even with new car prices seeing declines, the low supply continues to drive wholesale values higher,” RVI vice president Rene Abdalah told Auto Remarketing on Friday.

Breaking the month down, truck segments accounted for the top five sequential increases and six of the top eight.

The segment showing the heftiest increase from November was the full-size van category, which was up 2.6 percent. It was followed by small pickups (up 1.4 percent) and small SUVs (up 1.4 percent), with full-size pickups (up 1.2 percent) and full-size SUVs (up 1.1 percent) not far behind.

“Larger segments were market leaders in month-over-month increases mainly due to the continued decline of gas prices,” Abdalah explained. “Consumers have found low- to mid-$3/gallon prices the norm and have turned to purchasing larger vehicles.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum, sports cars (down 5.4 percent) showed the heftiest decline with luxury coupes (down 2.9 percent) having the second-highest drop.

On a year-over-year basis, all segments were up in price. The most dramatic increase was for subcompacts, which climbed 25.7 percent. Next up were small pickups (up 19.3 percent) and compacts (up 19.2 percent), respectively. Showing the lightest year-over-year gain was the luxury coupe segment, climbing 1.8 percent.