Critical Shifts:
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Slight Overall Market Decline: The seasonally adjusted Used Vehicle Retention Index dipped 0.9% in July 2026 to 146.0, reflecting broader affordability pressures on consumers.
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Compact & Mid-Size Cars Lead Retention: Fuel efficiency priorities, combined with constrained supply from past production cutbacks, drove month-over-month gains for smaller sedans.
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Segment Performance Is Diverging: Mid-Size Crossovers fell by 1.5%, highlighting that market health and depreciation rates vary significantly depending on vehicle class.
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Black Book released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for July 2026. The seasonally adjusted Index slightly decreased 0.9% (1.3 points) to 146.0 from June 2026 (147.3), which is 0.3% below where it was at the same time in 2025.
“July brought further depreciation across much of the used-vehicle market as affordability pressures continued to influence consumer purchasing decisions,” said Laura Wehunt, Vice President of Data & Analytics at Black Book. “However, performance varied significantly by segment. Compact Cars and Mid-Size Cars were among the strongest performers, posting month-over-month gains as consumers increasingly prioritized fuel efficiency and value amid elevated fuel prices. Years of reduced production in these segments have also limited used-vehicle supply, helping support stronger value retention. Meanwhile, Mid-Size Crossovers declined 1.5% during the month, reinforcing that market conditions continue to vary considerably across vehicle categories.”
The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original typically equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition. The Index offers an accurate, representative, and unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values.f
