Used Car Prices in the US Surge in April Due to Tariffs

2025-05-07 13:09 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index for the US jumped 2.7% mom in April 2025, the first rise in three months, and the biggest increase since July 2024, on the back of the tariff announcement in early April.

“The ‘spring bounce’ normally ends the second week of April, but this year, wholesale appreciation trends continued for the entire month.

We expected to see strong price appreciation in response to the tariffs, and that’s exactly what came”, said Jeremy Robb, senior director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive.

Prices increased for SUVs (2.4%), trucks (2.1%), mid-size sedans (2.2%), luxury (1.5%) and compact cars (0.8%).

Year-on-year, prices of used cars went up 4.9%, the most since August 2022.

"As we move into the second half of the year, the auto market may slow as strong demand likely pulled some transactions forward in March and April as buyers tried to get ahead of expected higher prices due to tariffs”, Jeremy Robb added.



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