IRVINE, Calif. –

When Kelley Blue Book assessed January wholesale prices, analysts found an unusual situation. KBB noticed 2011 models being more valuable a year after their introduction than where 2012 units stand 12 months following their roll out.

To be exact, analysts determined that 2012 model-year vehicles are actually worth 4 percent less than a used 2011 model-year vehicle at this time last year.

“The 4-percent drop in values year-over-year can be attributed to the still narrow gap between new and used-vehicle pricing in many segments, such as compact cars and small crossovers, where only a few thousand dollars separate a brand-new vehicle from a 1- or 2-year-old used variant,” said Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst of automotive insights at Kelley Blue Book

“Dealers are becoming reluctant to continue to pay close to original MSRP for used vehicles at auction, and as a result, Kelley Blue Book has seen a convergence of late-model values,” Gutierrez continued.

KBB indicated that what’s further suppressing values of used 2012 model-year vehicles is the jump in availability relative to previous model years. With more than 14.5 million vehicles sold last year, Kelley Blue Book expects considerably more 2012 model-year vehicles to be available at auction this year than 2011, 2010, or 2009 model-year vehicles were in previous years.

"As the 2012 models continue to return to auction in higher volumes than their 2011, 2010, and especially 2009 counterparts, Kelley Blue Book will continue to see late-model values get squeezed,” Gutierrez said.

Overall, KBB found that auction values were relatively flat in January in accordance with “typical seasonal patterns, declining a modest 0.3 percent overall.”

However, values were up 2.6 percent on average year-over-year, according to KBB.

Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.