Industry Seeing Uptick for Small Cars

The industry is beginning to see an uptick in the small-car market, which had been hit severely when gas prices stabilized.

Values in the car-based segments have underperformed all year, dropping consistently as gas prices stabilized, according to analysts from Kelley Blue Book, a vehicle-pricing guide.

This drop in values may have been an overcorrection, which partly explains the rebound in values in late August that continued to climb through September.

“The compact market may have actually gotten too low this year due to irrational behavior and the overcorrection of the economy and gas prices,” says Alec Gutierrez, Kelley's senior market analyst.