Wholesale Pricing Trends for Start of 2015

According to the latest RVI Market Update, the RVI Used-Vehicle Price Index fell by 4 percent from December, while minivans saw an 8-percent rise in residual values during the same time period.

Though used-car prices fell slightly last month and most vehicle segments saw month-over-month declines, minivans continued to see impressive price increases. According to the latest RVI Market Update, the RVI Used-Vehicle Price Index fell by 4 percent from December, while minivans saw an 8-percent rise in residual values during the same time period.
This was the greatest price increase last month out of the high volume vehicle segments, with minivans prices rising 8 percent from December for and up 5.6 percent year-over-year.
The sporty coupe segment also saw an impressive price spike with an 11.9-percent increase from December, followed by the luxury full-size sedan segment, up by 11.4 percent.
The midsize SUVs also performed better than the overall market, touting a 2.7-percent price increase from December and a 7.6-percent rise from the same period of 2014.
The said, the report shared that overall, prices trended downward last month, with full-size pickups and SUVs seeing declines from December, while gas prices dropped for the seventh straight month.
Even as gas prices fell to 93 cents per liter, down from $1.05 per liter in December, full-size pickup prices and full-size SUV rates both fell by 12.3 percent from December.
The full-size sedan segment also saw residuals fall significantly in January, with price dropping by 16.8 percent from December.
Earlier this month,reports from Manheim and Adesa Canada showed price declines in the lanes as 2015 got underway, as well.
Based on numbers provided by the two companies, there appear to be very slight shifts in overall pricing as Manheim has reported a 0.3-percent decrease in its January index, while ADESA Canada reported a 0.3-percent month-over-month increase in overall wholesale prices in January.

Wholesale Pricing Trends for Start of 2015............................................... www.redlineautosales.ca/wholesale-pricing-trends-for-start-of-2015.htm

Central Canada Leader in National Auto Sales

Canadian new auto sales - which totaled roughly 1.85 million units in 2014 - eclipsed the previous year by 6 percent, according to the Scotiabank Global Auto Report released this month. Unlike 2013, however, which had overall sales growth in all regions, the significant growth for last year was driven out of the central regions of the country. "We expect sales to edge up to 1.86 million units in 2015, buoyed by ongoing job gains, low interest rates and near-record vehicle affordability," said Carlos Gomes, Scotiabank's senior economist and auto industry specialist. "Canadian exports have accelerated over the past year, advancing by 11 percent - the best performance since 2011. Shipments will be buoyed in 2015 by the strongest economic growth in the United States in a decade, as well as by the recent sharp depreciation of the Canadian dollar as a result of the slump in global oil prices."
Scotiabank also highlighted the following from its Scotiabank Global Auto Report:

• Car and light truck sales in Ontario increased 11 percent in 2014, the first time ever selling over 700,000 units. Sales from these two areas are expected to increase to 726,000 this year.
• In Alberta, vehicle sales are expected to decrease from 2014's total of 269,000 units to 263,000 units due to a reduction in oil and gas investment. Alberta's labor market is expected to continue to grow, however, in line with the national average.
• Auto sales in Quebec are expected to strengthen to 423,000 units in 2015 with the anticipated strengthening of manufacturing exports.

Central Canada Leader in National Auto Sales...................................... www.redlineautosales.ca/central-canada-leader-in-national-auto-sales.htm

Canadian Black Book's Best Retained Value Awards

Canadian Black Book released the results of its annual "Best Retained Value" Awards this evening, in time for the kickoff of the Canadian International Autoshow in Toronto on Friday. This year's awards took a look at 2011 model-year vehicles, with Toyota taking home the most awards this time around. And not surprisingly, the Jeep Wrangler once again saw the strongest price retention on the roads.
The Japanese nameplate notched six Best Retained Value first-place awards this year.
When asked what so often puts Toyota ahead in terms of value retention, Josh Bailey, vice president of research and editorial at Black Book, said, "It seems that it is partially reputation. Certainly, Toyota is well-known for building reliable cars, even though we have seen them go through some tribulations with recalls over the past few years. Still, when you speak to the owners and see the studies come out, they do fare very well in terms of reliability.

"We also know that Toyota spends a lot of time training dealers on customer handling, particularly through the turbulence they have had recently," he added.
Once again, Toyota's Prius earned the top spot in the compact car category for the third consecutive year. Canadian Black Book pointed out this win confirms the "continued desirability of this hybrid among Canadians."
Even though hybrid new-car sales are still a fraction of a percentage of the market, Bailey pointed out when you look at the hybrid used-car market, with the Prius and the entry-luxury car segment winner, the LexusCT200 hybrid  - also the first luxury hybrid to notch a CBB retained value award - it is "eye opening."
Bailey also said that hybrids that are part of larger model programs, such as the Toyota Accord hybrid or Camry hybrid, these vehicles don't seem to fare as well in terms of value retention. The vehicles that are designed and marketed as hybrids, such as the Prius, tend to perform better.
Scarcity certainly plays a factor in hybrid value retention, as well.
"Hybrids tend to be a little more expensive on the front-end when you buy it new, but as a used buy, I think the scarcity, plus a group of people, who despite what the fuel prices might be, are still interested in buying hybrids, are fueling retention," Bailey concluded.
Toyota also swept the midsize SUV category, locking down first place with its Toyota 4Runner, followed by the FJ Cruiser and Highlander in second and third place, respectively.
The Japanese brand also took home first-place finishes in the small pickup segment (Toyota Tacoma) and the full-size pickup class (Toyota Tundra), notching these wins for the sixth year in a row.
The only other vehicles to take home awards for the sixth consecutive year were the Subaru Outback (midsize car) and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (full-size van).
The 2015 award winners were also highlighted by the Jeep Wrangler out in front with the best retained value of any vehicle.
The Wrangler retained almost 70 percent of its original MSRP after four years, the most impressive retention performance out of all 2011 model-year vehicles sold in Canada.
The unit was recognized once again as a first-place finisher in the compact SUV category for the fifth consecutive year.
What factors continue to push the Wrangler to above-average retention performance? Bailey said the addition of the four-door model in 2008 pushed the unit even further ahead.
"They were always really good, but now it's expanded into a whole different world. And with the whole industry shifting toward that sport utility angle, this is kind of the ultimate choice. It is the icon of off-roading," Bailey said. "When you put that on top of the overall trends in the market,  that is one of the reasons that the Wrangler fares so well."
Among other trends seen across this year's set of awards, Canadian Black Book pointed out there has been a "surge" in European wins.
Looking at the awards by continent, Japanese manufacturers came out ahead with 10 first-place finishes, followed by Europe with seven, which is up from three last year. Domestics notched three wins.
Bailey reported the improvement from European manufacturers may be due in part to their focus on CPO programs.
"They have had really strong CPO programs, those brands like Audi and BMW. I think that they are very much aware of the benefits of CPO and what it brings to the brand. It's difficult to isolate the impact of CPO on the prices, but knowing they have pretty firm guidelines as far as what the CPO program needs to look like and how strongly the dealers participate in it, there is certainly something to it," he continued.
Trends in this year's award set also show the premium sports car class are seeing particularly high retention rates.
The No. 1 vehicle, the Porsche Boxter, retained 68 percent of its original MSRP, followed by the Porsche Cayman and Audi R8, which both saw retention rates of over 60 percent.
CBB also introduced a new category to its awards, this year: the Compact Commercial Van segment.
For the inaugural awards, the Ford Transit Connect came in the first place spot, retaining 60 percent of its original 2011 MSRP.
"The reason behind is that the segment has been so small in the past, really it was only the Grand Caravan Cargo that existed in the market. Then the Transit Connect came out. Now, we have got the MV200, and the City Express, along with the ProMaster City," Bailey explained.  "So there are a whole bunch of entries that are coming. So we thought rather than sitting on the sidelines and waiting for them to come to market, we would get ahead of that trend a little bit and start recognizing that segment, as well."
See below for the complete Canadian Black Book 2015 "Best Retained Value" award listings:

Model	1st	2nd	3rd
Sub-compact Car	Honda Fit	Kia Soul	Scion xD
Compact Car	Toyota Prius	Subaru Impreza	Acura CSX
Mid-size Car	Subaru Outback	Kia Optima	Honda Accord
Full-size Car	Toyota Avalon	Dodge Charger	Chrysler 300
Entry Luxury Car	LexusCT200h	Volvo XC70	Lexus IS Series
Luxury Car	Audi A5	Hyundai Equus	Lexus GS Series
Premium Luxry Car	Porsche Panamera	Lexus LS Series	Mercedes-Benz CLS Class
Premium Sports Car	Porsche Boxster	Porsche Cayman	Audi R8
Sports Car	Dodge Challenger	Volkswagen GTI	Audi TT
Small Pick-up	Toyota Tacoma	Honda Ridgeline	Ford Ranger
Full-size Pick-up	Toyota Tundra	Chevrolet Silverado HD	Chevrolet Avalanche
Minivan	Honda Odyssey	Toyota Sienna	Nissan Quest
Full-size Van	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	GMC Savana	Chevrolet Express
Compact Commecial Van (New)	Ford Transit Connect	Dodge Caravan Cargo
Compact SUV	Jeep Wrangler	Honda CR-V (tie) Subaru Forster (tie)
Mid-size SUV	Toyota 4Runner	Toyota FJ Cruiser	Toyota Highlander
Full-size SUV	Toyota Sequoia	Dodge Durango	Nissan Armada
Compact Luxury SUV	Audi Q5	Acura RDX	Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class
Mid-Size Luxury SUV	Porsche Cayenne	Lexus GX Series	Land Rover LR4
Full-size Luxury SUV	Mercedes-Benz G-Class	Lexus LX Series	Land Rover Ranger Rover

Canadian Black Book's Best Retained Value Awards............................ www.redlineautosales.ca/canadian-black-book-s-best-retained-value-awards.htm

Chrysler Canada is now FCA Canada

Chrysler Canada Rebrands as FCA Canada

Following suit with its parent companies, Chrysler Canada Inc. announced Wednesday it has changed its company name to FCA Canada Inc. The naming scheme falls in line with the FCA global parent company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., which changed its name in October. FCA Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of FCA US, which rebranded in December.
The rebranding follows FCA Canada's January sales figures announced on Tuesday, where the then-named Chrysler Canada sported the most vehicles sold of any automaker in the country.
The company says it sold 18,054 cars and trucks in January, roughly 2 percent more than the same month in 2013. Out of that amount, year-over-year, truck sales increased by 8.5 percent while passenger car sales dropped 34.7 percent.


Chrysler Canada is now FCA Canada.................................................. www.redlineautosales.ca/chrysler-canada-is-now-fca-canada.htm