Through April, the auction volume of vehicles 5 years old or newer has climbed 6.5% in 2019, a year expected to be the peak in supply for this age group of vehicles.

That’s according to the latest Guidelines report from J.D. Power Valuation Services, which said auction volume of vehicles 5 years old or newer is at 1,401,606 units through April.

In April itself, auction volume for this group was up 8.1% year-over-year, despite a 5.3% dip from March, the report said.

For full-year 2019, J.D. Power is projecting approximately 3% growth in auction volume for vehicles 5 years old or less, followed by a plateau in the following two years.

“The anticipated increase will be fueled by increases in off-lease volume,” analysts said in the report. “Retail, rental and commercial volumes are also expected to increase in 2019, however, not nearly to the same degree as off-lease volume.”

SUV strength

The SUVs are showing the most growth in auction growth year-to-date for this age group, including the compact SUV, whose volume is up 30.2% at 248,749 units, J.D. Power said.

The compact SUV had the second-highest year-to-date auction volume growth of any segment cited in the report. Topping the list was the midsize pickup (up 32.8% at 18,911 units).

Among other SUV segments:

• Large premium SUVs are up 25.7% at 12,986 units
• Compact premium SUVs are up 25.6% at 32,623 units
• Midsize SUVs are up 14.6% at 156,438 units
• Midsize premium SUVs are up 7.7% at 40,455 units
• Large SUVs are up 4.2% at 24,414 units

Commenting on SUVs leading the auction volume gains, J.D. Power said: “This is a trend that will continue as more of these models are sold on the new side of the market.”

13 of 19 show auction volume increase

There were 19 segments included in the J.D. Power data set, only six of which showed declines in year-to-date auction volume of vehicles 5 years old or newer.

Those were:

• Midsize vans: down 18.0% at 41,215 units
• Sporty cars: down 13.0% at 24,311 units
• Large premium cars: down 10.1% at 7,315 units
• Midsize cars: down 8.5% at 238,592 units
• Large vans: down 7.7% at 7,031 units
• Small cars: down 2.7% at 67,007 units