Auction sales cool from July, but maintain strength over 2024 numbers

Auction sales last month didn’t reach July’s heights, but still beat prior-year figures, with the year-to-date pace remaining ahead of 2024, as well.

That’s according to the latest AuctionNet report from the National Auto Auction Association, which said wholesale unit sales were up about 3% year-over-year in August, when adjusting for selling days, but fell 1% month-over-month.

In July, auction sales were up 9% year-over-year and also climbed 9% month-over-month, NAAA said, shaking off the first year-over-year decline in almost two-and-a-half years.

Through eight months of the year, sales have climbed nearly 6%, selling-day adjusted.

Looking at seller types in August, commercial sales — which climbed 10% year-over-year and 2% month-over-month — fared much better than dealer sales, which fell 1% year-over-year and 4% month-over-month, NAAA said.

This after dealer sales jumped 9% year-over-year in July and climbed 10% month-over-month. Sales from commercial consignors jumped 12% year-over-year in July.

Commercial sellers have also pushed the gains among 0-2-year-old vehicles, but also been the key driver of slower 3-year-old sales.

Overall, sales of 0-2-year-old vehicles were up 21.5% from August 2024 and beat July numbers by 8%, NAAA said.

Close to two-thirds (64%) of sales for this age group this year are from commercial sellers. Through eight months, commercial sales of vehicles up to 2 years old have climbed 28%, while dealer sales are up 16%, the association said.

Meanwhile, the impact of sluggish off-lease numbers is being seen in low sales numbers for 3-year-old vehicles,

NAAA said 3-year-old vehicle sales were down 21.5% in August, with commercial sales falling 30%, which corresponds with the dip in lease originations from 2022.

Next, sales volumes for 4- to 6-year-old vehicles fell close to 6% year-over-year, while vehicles 7 years and older showed a 6% uptick, NAAA said. Through eight months, sales for the latter are up 10%.

“Commercial sales comprise the lion’s share of volume growth for the group (+18%) reflecting far more repos being sold at auction,” said NAAA vice president Larry Dixon.

He added: “Reversing a long-running trend, compact and mid-size car sales moved higher in July, but they backtracked again in August, dropping by a combined average of 5.6%. Utility sales continued their steady ascent, rising by an average of 12% (selling day adjusted).”

Note: This is part of a monthly series in which Auto Remarketing shares AuctionNet data and commentary provided by the National Auto Auction Association.

As noted by the organization, more than 260 NAAA member auctions power AuctionNet, making it the most comprehensive source of wholesale auto auction sales data in the U.S. Unless otherwise noted, auction sales figures are based on total reporting auctions, the number and composition of which may vary over time.  Data below courtesy of AuctionNet/NAAA.