KBB: Average New-Car Prices Up Nearly 1% Year-Over-Year

Staff Report

Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

The analysts at Kelley Blue Book today reported the estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $34,648 in August 2017. New-car prices have increased by $243 (up 0.7 percent) from August 2016, while increasing slightly (up 0.5 percent) from last month.   

"August revealed mixed average transaction prices across the major manufacturers, although the industry average still managed to rise nearly 1 percent year-over-year," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book.  "However, we should note that this is far lower than the 2 to 3 percent gains in the first half of the year, and prices moved downward in key segments such as full-size trucks and mid-size cars. With incentives still averaging more than 10 percent of transaction prices, Kelley Blue Book sees clear signs of pressure on new-car pricing in what is the first down year of sales since the recession."

Manufacturer

August

 2017

Transaction
Price (Avg.)*

July

2017

Transaction
Price (Avg.)*

August

2016
Transaction
Price (Avg.)*

Percent Change July

2017 to August 2017*

Percent Change August

2016 to August

2017*

American Honda (Acura, Honda)

$27,533

$27,322

$27,319

0.8%

0.8%

Fiat Chrysler (Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, RAM)

$37,361

$37,505

$35,196

-0.4%

6.1%

Ford Motor Company (Ford, Lincoln)

$38,559

$38,305

$38,118

0.7%

1.2%

General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

$39,973

$39,523

$40,199

1.1%

-0.6%

Hyundai-Kia

$25,241

$25,226

$24,824

0.1%

1.7%

Nissan North America (Nissan, Infiniti)

$28,795

$28,886

$28,324

-0.3%

1.7%

Subaru

$28,750

$28,535

$28,609

0.8%

0.5%

Toyota Motor Company (Lexus, Toyota)

$31,420

$31,627

$31,528

-0.7%

-0.3%

Volkswagen  Group (Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche)

$38,780

$38,543

$38,529

0.6%

0.7%

Industry

$34,646

$34,469

$34,405

0.5%

0.7%

*Kelley Blue Book average transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives

Fiat Chrysler's average prices climbed more than 6 percent in August, helped by a strong sales mix of RAM trucks. The Jeep brand also increased 6 percent as the new Compass was up 8 percent year-over-year. 

Among other automakers with average transaction price gains, Hyundai-Kia's transaction prices are up nearly 2 percent in August, with Hyundai up 3 percent. Although the Elantra increased 3 percent, the average transaction price gains at Hyundai are largely due to a smaller sales mix of their smaller cars. Kia was down 1 percent.

Nissan North America also was up nearly 2 percent, as Infiniti was down 1 percent and Nissan rose 2 percent. The Rogue, Nissan's best seller, increased 2 percent, but Nissan's best performer was the Armada, up 13 percent amid big sales increases.

Segment

August

 2017

Transaction
Price
(Avg.)*

July

2017

Transaction
Price
(Avg.)*

August

2016
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)*

Percent
Change
July

2017 to
August
2017*

Percent
Change
August

2016 to
August

2017*

Compact Car

$20,377

$20,410

$20,220

-0.2%

0.8%

Compact SUV/Crossover

$28,416

$28,336

$27,993

0.3%

1.5%

Electric Vehicle

$38,701

$38,642

$40,135

0.2%

-3.6%

Entry-Level Luxury Car

$41,797

$41,748

$41,006

0.1%

1.9%

Full-Size Car

$34,699

$34,456

$34,444

0.7%

0.7%

Full-Size Pickup Truck

$46,464

$46,506

$46,912

-0.1%

-1.0%

Full-Size SUV/Crossover

$60,933

$61,059

$60,766

-0.2%

0.3%

High Performance Car

$92,009

$92,493

$91,481

-0.5%

0.6%

High-End Luxury Car

$95,219

$95,650

$95,585

-0.5%

-0.4%

Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car

$25,922

$25,858

$26,098

0.2%

-0.7%

Luxury Car

$57,061

$57,382

$57,376

-0.6%

-0.5%

Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover

$43,175

$43,116

$44,731

0.1%

-3.5%

Luxury Full-Size SUV/Crossover

$81,880

$82,308

$84,379

-0.5%

-3.0%

Luxury Mid-Size SUV/Crossover

$53,915

$54,317

$54,631

-0.7%

-1.3%

Mid-Size Car

$24,782

$24,902

$24,995

-0.5%

-0.9%

Mid-Size Pickup Truck

$32,473

$32,306

$32,139

0.5%

1.0%

Mid-Size SUV/Crossover

$37,421

$37,628

$37,081

-0.6%

0.9%

Minivan

$33,872

$33,970

$33,012

-0.3%

2.6%

Sports Car

$30,069

$30,141

$30,364

-0.2%

-1.0%

Subcompact Car

$16,442

$16,504

$16,421

-0.4%

0.1%

Subcompact SUV/Crossover

$24,387

$24,385

$24,562

0.0%

-0.7%

Van

$34,529

$34,027

$35,239

1.5%

-2.0%

Grand Total

$34,646

$34,469

$34,405

0.5%

0.7%

*Kelley Blue Book average transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives