Dealers in need of vehicles for their certified pre-owned programs will likely be encouraged by this news:

Wholesale sales of vehicles from commercial consignors are up 15% through five months of 2026, with a particularly strong surge in late-model and near-new vehicles, according to the latest AuctionNet data from the National Auto Auction Association.

NAAA said overall wholesale sales were up more than 2% year-over-year in May, when adjusting for selling days, with sales from commercial consignors up 17% compared to May 2025.

With a boost in fleet remarketing activity, there was more than a 29% year-over-year spike in 1-year-old vehicle sales by commercial consignors in May, NAAA said. What’s more, there was nearly a 24% rise in sales of 3-year-old vehicles from commercial consignors.

Through five months, sales of 3-year-old vehicles by commercial consignors have climbed nearly 18%, NAAA said.

It’s a different story for dealer consignment, where wholesale sales last month fell more than 7% compared to May 2025, the association said. Year-to-date, they’re off almost 6%.

Breaking AuctionNet wholesale sales data down by segment, the most significant change was for compact crossovers/SUVs, where volume rose 11.3% year-over-year to 94,184 in May.

Compact luxury crossover/SUV volume was also up double-digits, rising 10.4% with 15,285 units sold at auction.

Compact car wholesale sales volumes were down 3.2%, full-size pickup volumes climbed 1.7% and luxury cars were off 1.3%.

Midsize cars had the most significant decline, with volumes falling 7.7% year-over-year.

There was a 4.5% lift in volume for midsize crossovers/SUVs and a 7.5% hike for midsize luxury crossovers/SUVs.

Separately, electric vehicle volumes continue to escalate, the NAAA data shows. They were up 24.8% year-over-year, with 16,047 EVs sold at auction.

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.

 

AuctionNet® Wholesale Auction Results
May-26
Total Unit Sales
Select Segments May-25 May-26 % Change (selling day adjusted)
Compact Car 55,730 51,383 -3.2%
Compact Crossover/SUV 88,815 94,184 11.3%
Compact Luxury Crossover/SUV 14,541 15,285 10.4%
Full-Size Pickup 81,806 79,254 1.7%
Luxury Car 31,784 29,862 -1.3%
Mid-Size Car 64,947 57,114 -7.7%
Mid-Size Crossover/SUV 96,924 96,460 4.5%
Mid-Size Luxury Crossover/SUV 22,527 23,054 7.5%
Electric Vehicles 13,498 16,047 24.8%
Source:  AuctionNet®. Segmentation provided by Black Book.