Column: Used-vehicle demand gone? Not so fast.

Days ago, in the midst of writing for this week’s used-vehicle special section, I picked up the phone and dialed a dealer for her insight. I asked her if, so far this year, she’d seen any notable fluctuation in demand for used cars and trucks.

Back in January, dealers who responded to an outlook survey by Automotive News indicated major concern about how rising interest rates might affect used-vehicle demand through the rest of the year.

What she told me was interesting: Consumers are still buying, but it’s now on a need basis, not on a whim basis.

It lined right up with what other dealers told editorial intern Abigail Ham and I for our article that recaps most of the spring selling season. As one told Ham: “There aren’t as many shoppers, but there are still a lot of buyers.”

Said another to me: “The used-car business, historically, is still very good.”

That spring lookback is just a taste of what we have for readers this week.

In this issue, readers will find our debut list of used-vehicle-only retailers. Curious about that? Well, starting this year, we chose to split off companies with large used-vehicle-only operations — such as CarMax Inc. and Carvana Co. — into their own list. Before, they placed in our annual ranking of the top 100 dealership groups by used-vehicle sales.

Our new list debuts with 20 retailers, but it has room to grow. By all means, contact the Automotive News Research & Data Center if your company should be considered for next year’s list.

We also have a Q&A with Vroom Inc.’s chief executive, who reflected on a slew of operational changes the online used-vehicle retailer needed to make in 2022.

There is a handy update on wholesale used-vehicle pricing. Spoiler: Forecasters say it appears wholesale price appreciation that heated up in the first quarter has reached a turning point.

Retail Technology reporter Mark Hollmer brings us a look at one Top 100 dealership group that is using technology, an expanded acquisition strategy and a 90-day write-down policy to boost its used-to-new vehicle sales ratio. Hollmer also gives us a status update on AutoNation Inc.’s progress this year in opening more used-vehicle-only stores.

Last but not least, we walk through how much profit per used vehicle CarMax and the six publicly traded dealership groups garnered in in the first quarter.

This used-vehicle issue could be one that gets well-used!