Average New-Vehicle Prices Up Nearly 3% Year-Over-Year in March 2020, Despite COVID-19 Impact on the Economy, According to Kelley Blue Book
Prices Supported by Finance and Payment Deferral Incentives from Automakers and Captive Finance Companies
IRVINE, Calif., April 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The valuation analysts at Kelley Blue Book today reported the estimated average transaction price for a light vehicle in the United States was $37,736 in March 2020. New-vehicle prices increased $972 (up 2.6%) from March 2019, while dropped $38 (down 0.1%) from last month.
"While the automotive industry and broader U.S. economy were brought to a near halt in March, average transaction prices remained stable from February and increased from this time last year, showing strength in line with the first two months of the year," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "Prices were supported by the abundance of incentives quickly enacted by manufacturers and their captive finance companies, including 0% financing for 84 months and payment deferrals of up to 180 days."
With most of the country encouraged to stay at home for at least another month and unemployment skyrocketing as a result, the impact of this year's auto sales will be severe. However, production is also at a standstill, as North American factories have been shut down for weeks. This coincidental drop in demand and lack of new supply is extraordinary. For March, new-vehicle prices remain solid, but there are still many unknowns about April and what the state of the economy will be for the remainder of the year.
Manufacturer | March 2020 Transaction | February 2020 Transaction | March 2019 | Percent | Percent March |
American Honda (Acura, Honda) | $28,999 | $29,057 | $28,840 | -0.2% | 0.5% |
Fiat Chrysler (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, RAM) | $40,881 | $40,765 | $38,858 | 0.3% | 5.2% |
Ford Motor Company (Ford, Lincoln) | $43,253 | $43,580 | $42,271 | -0.7% | 2.3% |
General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | $41,072 | $41,153 | $40,258 | -0.2% | 2.0% |
$27,931 | $27,976 | $25,669 | -0.2% | 8.8% | |
Nissan North America (Nissan, INFINITI) | $30,742 | $31,023 | $29,164 | -0.9% | 5.4% |
$31,125 | $30,952 | $30,151 | 0.6% | 3.2% | |
Toyota Motor Company (Lexus, Toyota) | $34,098 | $34,029 | $33,740 | 0.2% | 1.1% |
Volkswagen Group (Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche) | $42,526 | $42,299 | $42,648 | 0.5% | -0.3% |
Industry | $37,736 | $37,774 | $36,764 | -0.1% | 2.6% |
*Kelley Blue Book average transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives | |||||
Hyundai and Kia are still seeing the biggest gains for the major manufacturers as Hyundai rose 13% and Kia was up 5%. The redesigned Sonata helped Hyundai the most as it climbed 13% and second place in the mid-size car segment behind the Subaru Legacy. In March 2019, the Sonata had the lowest ATP in the segment. In addition, the Palisade continues to perform well, making up more than 10% of Hyundai sales with transaction prices above $40,000. At Kia, the Telluride rose 7% year-over-year, while the redesigned Soul was up 4%.
At the segment level, cars continue to suffer – in addition to falling sales and market share, average transaction prices were roughly flat in March and down year-to-date. In a month where oil prices dropped to about $20 per barrel and gas prices to $2 per gallon nationally, no segment was hurt worse than hybrid cars, which fell nearly 3%. Electric vehicles did see prices rise, but that was tied more to the Audi e-tron, which was not available at this time last year. Prices of full-size SUVs, a segment that usually performs well when gas prices are low, were up just 1%. However, General Motors' SUVs (Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, and Yukon XL), which together make up more than half of the segment sales, have redesigns on their way in the coming months.
Segment | March 2020 Transaction | February 2020 Transaction | March 2019 | Percent | Percent March |
Compact Car | $21,193 | $21,063 | $20,588 | 0.6% | 2.9% |
Compact SUV/Crossover | $29,941 | $30,075 | $29,393 | -0.4% | 1.9% |
Electric Vehicle | $43,173 | $44,867 | $38,899 | -3.8% | 11.0% |
Entry-level Luxury Car | $42,345 | $42,274 | $43,028 | 0.2% | -1.6% |
Full-size Car | $35,178 | $35,045 | $35,116 | 0.4% | 0.2% |
Full-size Pickup Truck | $50,075 | $49,898 | $50,160 | 0.4% | -0.2% |
Full-Size SUV/Crossover | $63,269 | $63,082 | $62,525 | 0.3% | 1.2% |
High Performance Car | $114,464 | $114,504 | $109,880 | 0.0% | 4.2% |
High-end Luxury Car | $95,859 | $97,665 | $98,645 | -1.8% | -2.8% |
Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car | $27,433 | $27,442 | $28,229 | 0.0% | -2.8% |
Luxury Car | $59,257 | $59,340 | $60,676 | -0.1% | -2.3% |
Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover | $47,247 | $46,838 | $46,726 | 0.9% | 1.1% |
Luxury Full-size SUV/Crossover | $87,818 | $88,157 | $88,165 | -0.4% | -0.4% |
Luxury Mid-size SUV/Crossover | $59,413 | $59,784 | $59,365 | -0.6% | 0.1% |
Luxury Subcompact SUV/Crossover | $39,194 | $39,384 | $39,181 | -0.5% | 0.0% |
Mid-size Car | $26,202 | $26,166 | $25,891 | 0.1% | 1.2% |
Mid-size Pickup Truck | $35,681 | $35,927 | $34,086 | -0.7% | 4.7% |
Mid-size SUV/Crossover | $39,686 | $39,937 | $38,594 | -0.6% | 2.8% |
Minivan | $35,348 | $35,436 | $34,682 | -0.2% | 1.9% |
Sports Car | $36,360 | $36,035 | $35,929 | 0.9% | 1.2% |
Subcompact Car | $17,086 | $17,140 | $16,413 | -0.3% | 4.1% |
Subcompact SUV/Crossover | $24,761 | $24,683 | $25,004 | 0.3% | -1.0% |
Van | $36,443 | $36,632 | $35,615 | -0.5% | 2.3% |
Grand Total | $37,736 | $37,774 | $36,764 | -0.1% | 2.6% |
*Kelley Blue Book average transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives | |||||
For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/kelley-blue-book/, Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb and follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kbb_com/ (or @kbb_com).
About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week the company provides market-reflective values on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values and Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool, which provides a range for what consumers can reasonably expect to pay for a vehicle in their area. Car owners looking to sell immediately can also get a redeemable, transaction-ready offer with Kelley Blue BookSM Instant Cash Offer. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox Automotive brand.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling, owning and using cars easier for everyone. The global company's 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader®, Clutch Technologies, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, VinSolutions®, vAuto® and Xtime®, are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across five continents and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues of $21 billion. www.coxautoinc.com
SOURCE Kelley Blue Book
|
Director, Public Relations |
|
|
| For general or customer service inquiries, please call 1-800-258-3266. |
||
|
|
||
){kind=small}