Copart — and most any publicly traded company in the auto industry, for that matter — doesn’t typically hold conference calls between their regularly scheduled quarterly earnings calls with the investment community. But this year is a little different for the online vehicle auction company. On June 29, Copart announced a CEO transition, under which […] [Read More]

Today, wholesale buying and selling is driven by more than gut feeling and experience. Fred Stark, CarMax’s regional vice president of auction services, said today’s decisions are driven instead by data. “There is still a savviness needed in this industry, but a lot of it is more geared toward algorithms and just more data-driven all […] [Read More]

What it means to be an auction is changing. Some of these shifts have happened over the years, while others seem to have occurred overnight. Consider the current environment: Digital used-car retailer Carvana now owns ADESA's U.S. auctions and has launched inspection and reconditioning centers. ACV started as a digital platform but is now a […] [Read More]

As the National Auto Auction Association reported last month through its AuctionNet data, the opening six months of 2026 marked the strongest first half for auction vehicle sales in seven years. There were nearly 3.7 million vehicle sales at AuctionNet-participating auctions, the highest first-half tally since 2019. Drilling down into the most recent results from […] [Read More]

Annual depreciation for used vehicles on average has been historically between about 16 and 18%. Last year that figure was 13%, said Larry Dixon, vice president of Auction Data Solutions/AuctionNet at the National Auto Auction Association. “This year we’re trending to about 12% to let’s call it 14%, so very similar to what we saw […] [Read More]

Like NASA’s Artemis II mission in April, retail used-car prices rocketed into orbit this spring. And slowly but surely, “they’ve come back to down to earth.” Just not at astronomical speeds, says CARFAX, known for its history reports on more earthly vessels. The CARFAX Used Car Index in July is up 0.1% from June, an […] [Read More]

Caribou’s Q2 2026 Auto Refinance Trends Report showed subprime consumers enjoyed the deepest rate cuts across credit tiers, based on data from April to June of customers who refinanced to lower their monthly payments. Before someone begins to project that refinancing in the subprime market could take off even more if the Federal Reserve goes […] [Read More]

As much as artificial intelligence and other technologies have boosted auto financing, sometimes the fundamentals of just making a good car deal remain most important. FICO recently hosted an online dialogue with its head of auto, Shams Blanc, and Jim Dietrich, who is senior vice president of product at NCC. Not surprisingly, both Blanc and […] [Read More]

In Catalyst IQ’s State of the Industry report for the second quarter, a subsection titled “Actionable Guidance for Automotive Retail” lists the following used-car implications for automakers. “A healthy used market supports long-term brand value by strengthening residual values and lease economics. Monitoring and supporting used supply will remain essential when planning production levels, incentive […] [Read More]

Record new-car prices, says Catalyst IQ, have led to greater consumer emphasis on “affordability, fuel-efficiency and value.” And that includes stronger demand for used cars, which hit their quickest turn times in nearly three years, the automotive analytics and marketing company said in its Q2 2026 State of the Industry Report. Offering some overall commentary […] [Read More]