New- and Used-Vehicle Markets In It Together, from Wards Auto.
The pre-owned market is a “critical link in the automotive ecosystem,” says Tom Webb, Manheim chief economist.
Every used car begins as a new car. That’s a reason the new- and used-car markets are tied to each other.
There are plenty of other reasons, including trade-ins, front-end pricing based on back-end residuals and popularity of certified pre-owned programs automakers use to remarket their off-lease vehicles.
The used-car market’s “increasing importance reinforces remarketing’s critical link in the automotive ecosystem,” says Tom Webb, chief economist at Manheim, an auction and remarketing-services company.
Dealers know how the two markets play off each other. “You can’t have a successful new-car department without an efficient used-car operation,” Webb says at a press conference highlighting industry trends.