April saw used inventory levels decline slightly by 0.6% month-over-month (MoM), however more significantly they remain down nearly 15% year-over-year (YoY) highlighting the difficulty in finding a used vehicle in the current market after three years of reduced new vehicle sales. The tightening used inventory helped to increase average listing prices 1.5% to over Can$36.5k, however some of the departing inventory look to be aged as average days-on-market dropped 5.1% MoM.

Used inventory levels continued to tighten in March with Vehicle Availability Index readings dropping 3.2% MoM and now down 8% YoY. Surprisingly the tightening inventory hasn’t impacted prices yet as average listing prices dropped 1.4% MoM and are now down 3.1% YoY while still being up over 50% from pre-COVID levels. Days-on-market for used vehicles headed down in March, suggesting that consumers are purchasing more longer sitting models as inventory levels tighten. 

February overall saw a continuation of the trends that we saw last month. For used vehicles we saw inventory levels continue to decline with readings dropping 4.5% month-over-month while year-over-year readings were up just 0.1%. While readings are effectively flat compared to last year the trends couldn’t be more different as last year’s used inventory was heading up while this year it’s heading down. While inventory was trending down thankfully, we saw a continuation of declines in used vehicle prices last month with average listing prices declining 0.9% to just over Can$36.5k leaving prices up just 2% year-over-year. Finally, for used vehicles the declining inventory readings didn’t affect days-on-market yet as levels rose 1.9% month-over-month and now up a whopping 33.5% year-over-year.  

The start of the year was light on surprises for the Canadian vehicle market as trends from the end of 2022 continued into 2023.

On the used front, inventory continued to decline MoM by 5.8%; however, inventory levels are still up 10.1% compared to where they were last year. Average listing prices for used vehicles continued to decline, although the rate slowed to a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it -0.2% MoM, while prices are still up 6% YoY and a whopping 55.8% compared to pre-COVID measures. With more attractive vehicles moving faster, we’re continuing to see days-on-market increase, with January 2023 levels up 6.2% MoM and 25.3% YoY.

The end of the year saw a continued strengthening of availability and pricing trends for vehicles in the Canadian market. New inventory levels continued their rebound with levels increasing 6.4% compared to November and now up over 32% year-over-year. Used inventory levels saw a slight increase of 0.5%. Overall, readings were up 19% compared to the same time last year, which means that consumers have a much better selection of vehicles to start 2023.