LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -

Experian’s latest quarterly data report again mentioned how consumer affordability is impacting auto-finance metrics.

And consumer affordability also impacted Black Book’s Used Vehicle Retention Index for August.

This week, analysts released their latest index reading, which showed that August posted a 1.4% lift on a sequential basis. The index came in at 116.6, up from 115.0 in July.

“The strength of used market was fairly broad in August with almost all vehicle segments registering an increase in the Index. Sub-Compact Cars Index showed the highest increase at 2.1% month-over-month, highlighting the demand for affordable vehicles,” said Anil Goyal, Black Book’s executive vice president of operations.

“The near-luxury cars index is also showing a bounce off the lows now after declining for the last five years,” added Goyal, who is among the experts set to appear during Used Car Week, which begins on Nov. 11 at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.

The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published wholesale average value on 2- to 6-year-old used vehicles, as a percent of original typically-equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage and condition.

The index dates to January 2005 when Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market. During 2008, the index dropped by 14.1% while during 2016, the index fell by just 6.4%.

During 2011, the index rose strongly from 113.3 to 123.0 by the end of the year as the economy picked up steam and used vehicle values rose higher. It continued to remain relatively stable, rising slightly until May of 2014 when it hit a peak of 128.1.

To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index, go to this website.