J.D. Power (Canada) released its December Automotive Market Metrics on Thursday. The data shows that in December 2021, the number of days to turn used vehicles dropped below 70 compared to the previous year’s 70 day average. The drop in days, however, was more significant for new vehicles. In December of 2021 it took just over 30 days on average to turn a new vehicle compared to more than 60 days in December 2020.
J.D. Power’s Automotive Market Metrics also reported that 56% of consumers had a new-vehicle loan term that was 84 months or more in December. While trade-in percent was relatively stable year-over-year at about 45%, the percentage of negative equity vehicles at trade-in (new) had dropped significantly, just under 25% in December, and down almost ten percent compared to December 2020.
The average monthly payment per customer for a new loan was around $740 in December 2021 up from November. The average customer paid slightly less in December 2021 compared to the month prior for a new lease – approximately $640, which is about $20 less than the average monthly payment paid by customers in December 2020.
Citing data from the JDPA PIN Incentive Spending Report (ISR), J.D. Power reported that new vehicle prices were up slightly – $47,000 in December 2021 compared to last year’s average price of $46,000 (December 2020). Transaction prices were up much more, from $39,000 in December 2020 to $43,000 in December 2021.
In terms of the percentage of total transactions over the past 12 months, the majority of customers purchased their vehicle with a loan – 53% using a loan to purchase a new vehicle and 51% to purchase a used vehicle. Approximately 18% of customers paid cash for new vehicles and 47% paid cash for used vehicles. Twenty-nine percent of customers leased a new vehicle while only two percent leased a used vehicle.
