Wholesale vehicle auction house Manheim Australia continues to post strong sales volume growth in 2024 as the market returns towards pre-COVID activity levels.
Manheim’s wholesale volume for quarter three (Q3) of 2024 was 39.4% greater than Q3 of 2023, and year-to-date (YTD) volume is precisely 40% up.
Moreover, the sales volume in Q3 of 2024 was 7.3% greater than in Q2 of 2024, meaning the company’s auction lanes continued to pick up speed throughout the calendar year.
A particular bright spot is the fleet and lease sector, which represents vehicles remarketed on behalf of vendors, including LeasePlan, Custom Fleet, Summit, and SG Fleet.
The volume of these Fleet and Lease cars sold in Manheim Australia’s auction lanes broke the company’s all-time quarterly record in Q3 of 2024, eclipsing the previous high-water mark in Q4 of 2002.
Fleet and Lease sales volume over the first nine months of 2024 (January to September) is up 43% year-over-year—the highest Q1-Q3 cumulative tally on record for Australian operations.
Demonstrating the strength of the wholesale market, Manheim Australia is seeing more than just a strong volume uptick from fleet and lease.
Sales volume of vehicles is up across many sectors YoY, such as:
• Dealers: Up 44% YoY
• Governments: Up 47%
• Manufacturers: Up 72%
• Rental Companies: Up 53%
Manheim volumes are also up across all regions where the company competes:
• Adelaide: Up 39% YoY
• Brisbane: Up 48%
• Darwin: Up 75%
• Hobart: Up 11%
• Melbourne: Up 42%
• Newcastle: Up 26%
• Perth: Up 46%
• Sydney: Up 28%
• Townsville: Up 44%
While sales volume is well up this year, market conditions are dictating the continued softening of wholesale vehicle prices over the intense COVID-era inflation, which was linked to vehicle shortages.
The latest Manheim Australia Wholesale Price Index is 131.7, meaning an average 31.7% price increase since December 2019. While this is strong growth in isolation, in context, the Index has been down 4.6% YoY and down 21.2% since the Index peaked at 167.6 points in May 2022.
Passenger Vehicles (sedans, hatchbacks and wagons) are the most inflated on the Price Index due to an increasing undersupply linked to their declining share of the new market — with all its downstream impacts. They are also the quickest cars to sell; on average, finding a buyer seven days faster than SUVs.
Manheim Australia Wholesale Price Indexes by Vehicle Type in September 2024:
• Passenger cars: 147.6 (down 9.2% YoY)
• SUVs: 126.3 (down 0.6% YoY)
• Utes: 130.8 (down 7.0% YoY)
Manheim continues to see more inflated Price Indexes for older vehicles than younger ones. Demand from private buyers for stock aged 8-10 years drives up prices and discounts in the new market, negatively impacting price yields on the youngest wholesale stock.
Manheim Australia Wholesale Price Index by Vehicle Age in September 2024:
• 2-4 years: 115.8 (down 9.1% YoY)
• 5-7 years: 134.7 (down 3.5% YoY)
• 8-10 years: 139 (down 7.5% YoY)
These numbers do not mean that older cars are more expensive than younger ones but denote that they are more inflated relative to their pre-COVID levels.
To put this into further context, the expected residual values of wholesale assets aged 2-4 years are 65.8% today, compared to 68.5% in September 2023 and 82.3% at the market’s peak in May 2022. This data is vital for fleet managers to calculate total ownership costs.
Top-selling vehicles at Manheim in 2024 YTD:
1. Ford Ranger: Up 34.5% YoY
2. Isuzu D-Max: Up 70.2%
3. Toyota Hilux: Up 49.6%
4. Toyota Corolla: Up 74.5%
5. Toyota Camry: Up 55.9%
However, the vehicle with the more significant percentage volume growth YoY is the 2-4-year-old Toyota RAV4, whose volumes are up eightfold. Vendors should note that this has pushed down prices from their previously very inflated levels when supply was so tight between 2022 and 2023.
