There was a bit of role reversal when it came to vehicle depreciation last week.

“The steeper depreciation seen recently in the car segments slowed last week while the depreciation on crossovers and SUVs accelerated,” Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics, said in the latest Market Insights report.

Volume-weighted, overall car segment values for model years 2008-2014 decreased by 0.47 percent last week, which was much lower than the rate of 0.73 percent seen in the previous three weeks.

Meanwhile, volume weighted, overall truck segment values decreased by 0.51 percent last week, which was higher than the depreciation rate of 0.36 percent seen in the previous three weeks.

Despite this, demand for vehicles in this segment, including pickups, SUVs and vans, has remained at healthy levels. For example, a Black Book auction lane watcher in Arizona noted: “A good steady market here today with (four-wheel-drive) trucks in the most demand.”

Among cars, full-size cars, sporty cars and prestige luxury cars declined the most last week at 0.93 percent, 0.80 percent and 0.59 percent, respectively.

Many segments, however, saw much lower depreciation, including premium sporty cars at 0.11 percent, subcompact cars at 0.15 percent, and near-luxury cars at 0.22 percent.

Meanwhile, among trucks, compact vans, full-size crossovers/SUVs, full-size luxury crossovers/SUVs and compact crossovers/SUVs declined the most by 1.56 percent, 0.78 percent, 0.73 percent and 0.72 percent, respectively.

Segments that showed better retention included compact luxury crossover SUVs (0.10 percent), minivans (0.11 percent) and subcompact luxury crossovers (0.14 percent).

Subcompact car retention

The report took a particular look at subcompact cars to illustrate how retention rates for a segment can vary greatly over time. For a model year 2010 subcompact car, the retention in August 2012 was 63 percent. For a model year 2014, the retention in August 2016 was 44 percent. This was based on Black Book wholesale average (percent of MSRP) in August, at model year plus two years).

“With the increasing used supply and eroding demand, this segment has experienced a steep decline in retention values,” the report noted.

From the lanes

Black Book editors and personnel attend dozens of auctions throughout the U.S. each week. Here are some of their most recent observations:

Slow but good selection: “Sale was slow today compared to last week but there was a much better selection of vehicles today.” — Tennessee

Better retail: “Dealers say retail is better than expected for this time of year, with sales running very consistent from week to week.” — Nevada

Strong sale: “Good, strong sale overall with highline products leading the charge.” — California

Supply and demand: “There is good supply and demand in this location with buyers stepping up to the plate when necessary.” — Washington