04.02.2026
CBB Used Vehicle Retention Index Increases Marginally in March
Index Increased 0.3 points
Canadian Black Book today released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for March 2026, which sits at 132.5 points compared to 132.2 in February. Year-over-year, the Index decreased by 5.3%.
Click here to obtain a copy of the Index.
“There’s no denying a spring market. When we see the prevailing trends of wholesale values pause for this seasonal positivity, there is an expectation of it lasting only for a limited time. We understand the negativity in the market this year compared to last, and we are now very recently seeing it on the new vehicle side as well. What has transpired over the last 30 days for used vehicles mostly highlights the impact of the U.S. market. While our overall retention measure is slightly positive, there is a distinct inflection point separating vehicle segments. So much so that mid- and full-size crossovers, along with pickup trucks, are the only vehicles seeing positive value trends last month. This stresses the impact of tariffs on used vehicles produced outside of the U.S., and the returning used vehicle demand in that country, as American consumers digest high fuel prices (like us), but also the impact of tariffs on new vehicle pricing,” says Daniel Ross, Senior Manager of Industry Insights and Residual Value Strategy at Canadian Black Book.
The Index peaked in March of 2022 at 165 Index points. Preceding the March peak was a run of unprecedented growth in used values beginning in the late summer of 2020, when the Index was as low as 100.5 points.
The Canadian Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using CBB’s published Wholesale Average value on two to six-year-old used vehicles, as a percent of original typically equipped MSRP. It is weighted based on registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, and condition. The Index offers an accurate, representative, and unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values. The Index dates to January 2005, where the Canadian Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market.
ABOUT CANADIAN BLACK BOOK
For 60 years, Canadian Black Book has been the trusted and unbiased Canadian automotive industry source for vehicle values. Today the company has grown into a leading data provider of vehicle valuations, residual value forecast solutions, and VIN decoding. Canadian Black Book tools and information are considered ‘The Authority’ for vehicle values not only by car dealers and manufacturers but also the leasing, finance, insurance, and wholesale sectors. In 2020 Canadian Black Book brought to market its Enhance Vehicle Matching (EVM) solution, which will allow the industry to decode more consistently 17 digits VINs down to a specific trim package allowing a more precise vehicle valuation.
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