Has been two long yearsbut finally new cars are sold below sticker price on average It’s a sign that the miserable car-buying market may be improving the average consumer. According to data from Kelley Blue Book, the average amount of money Americans spent on a new vehicle in March was $48,008. That works out to be $171 below the average new vehicle sticker price of $48,179.
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It’s the first time it’s happened in 20 months. To put that into perspective, the average new car transaction was about $1,000 more than the sticker just a year ago, according to KBB. A big reason for the fall transaction prices are manufacturer incentives. These came to 3.3 percent of the average transaction price. That’s an average savings of just over $1,500.
It’s not all great news. Although prices were down 1.1 percent in March compared to February, they are still up if you look at March 2022. Prices are up 3.8 percent (about $1,800) Since then.
Now back to the good news, specifically for manufacturers. KBB says sales volumes rose 20 percent month-on-month and 8 percent year-on-year in March. Manufacturers mostly have an improved supply chain, a better mix of cheaper models and strong fleet sales to thank for that.
Non-luxury brands like Chevy, dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan i VW saw average transaction prices decline between 0.2 and 3.8 percent in March. However, not all automakers were in the same boat. Come on i honda both were selling for 3 to 6 percent over sticker in March. Overall, the average translation price for non-luxury vehicles was $44,182 in March. That’s about $500 less than in February 2023.
Despite this, luxury brands they were in a slightly different boat. Luxury sales now account for 18.2% of total vehicle sales, down 1.3% from February. Buyers of luxury brandsWe continue to pay the sticker for new vehicles at an average of $65,202. That’s only down $9 from February. KBB described the price breakdown as a “mixed bag”. Entry-level and high-end luxury cars, luxury compact SUVs, luxury midsize SUVs and luxury subcompact SUVs saw prices drop between 0.5 and 1.4 percent. Meanwhile, luxury cars and luxury full-size SUVs saw prices increase between 0.8 and 1.6 percent.
It’s a similar story when it comes to electric vehicles. The average price someone paid for a new electric vehicle in March 2023 was up $313 (0.5 percent) from February 2023. That’s an average new electric vehicle sales price of $58,940, according to KBB . It’s a surprising little twist when you consider the fact Tesla – the EV maker with the biggest piece of the pie by a mile – drastically cut prices in recent months. These cuts appear to have been offset by price increases from Mercedes-Benz, Rivian, lucidand other brands.
It’s not much, but we expect this general trend to continue.
