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Average New-Vehicle Prices Up Only 1% Year-Over-Year on Growing Discounts and Incentives, According to Kelley Blue Book

Staff Report

Monday, December 16th, 2019

The valuation analysts at Kelley Blue Boo reported the estimated average transaction price for a light vehicle in the United States was $38,393 in November 2019. New-vehicle prices increased $387 (up 1%) from November 2018, while climbing $106 (up 0.3%) from last month.   

"Transaction prices rose only 1% as dealer discounts grew to move older inventory," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "As retail sales slowed by more than 2% this year, vehicles are spending more time on dealer lots, about 80 days on average, which is five days longer than a year ago and the highest level seen since 2017. As a result, there are more discounts and incentives, especially now that the year's end is approaching."

Manufacturer

November
2019
Transaction
Price (Avg.)*

October
2019
Transaction
Price (Avg.)*

November
2018
Transaction
Price (Avg.)*

Percent
Change
October
2019 to
November
2019*

Percent
Change
November
2018 to
November
2019*

American Honda (Acura, Honda)

$29,008

$28,735

$29,587

0.9%

-2.0%

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

$40,760

$41,099

$39,810

-0.8%

2.4%

Ford Motor Company (Ford, Lincoln)

$43,676

$43,913

$40,967

-0.5%

6.6%

General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

$42,547

$42,467

$41,388

0.2%

2.8%

Hyundai Kia

$27,128

$27,508

$24,681

-1.4%

9.9%

Nissan North America (Nissan, INFINITI)

$31,330

$30,937

$30,848

1.3%

1.6%

Subaru

$30,467

$30,325

$29,854

0.5%

2.1%

Toyota Motor Company (Lexus, Toyota)

$34,692

$34,250

$33,971

1.3%

2.1%

Volkswagen Group (Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche)

$45,208

$44,777

$45,355

1.0%

-0.3%

Industry

$38,393

$38,287

$38,006

0.3%

1.0%

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

Once again, Hyundai Kia showed the greatest improvement of all manufacturers, as its prices grew 10%. Interestingly, new three-row SUV models and electric vehicles helped the brands most. The Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride SUVs both transacted at more than $40,000 on average, while the Hyundai Kona EV and Kia Niro EV helped boost these models' average transaction prices by 8%.

American Honda prices fell by 2%, with Acura down 5% and Honda dropping 1%. The Acura MDX had the biggest decline for Acura at 7%, and the RDX, Acura's top seller, dropped 2%. The Honda Clarity fell the most for the brand at 6%, while the Ridgeline also trended down by 6%. On a positive note, the Honda Civic was the automaker's top performer, up 3%.

Segment

 

 

November
2019
Transaction Price
(Avg.)*

October
2019
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)*

November
2018
Transaction
Price
(Avg.)*

Percent
Change
October
2019 to
November
2019*

Percent
Change
November
2018 to
November
2019*

Compact Car

$21,037

$20,948

$20,513

0.4%

2.6%

Compact SUV/Crossover

$29,617

$29,675

$28,979

-0.2%

2.2%

Electric Vehicle

$54,626

$54,400

$67,506

0.4%

-19.1%

Entry-level Luxury Car

$41,686

$42,204

$42,429

-1.2%

-1.8%

Full-size Car

$35,330

$35,218

$34,895

0.3%

1.2%

Full-size Pickup Truck

$51,140

$50,984

$49,506

0.3%

3.3%

Full-size SUV/Crossover

$62,962

$63,400

$63,579

-0.7%

-1.0%

High Performance Car

$122,316

$124,426

$121,611

-1.7%

0.6%

High-end Luxury Car

$97,087

$97,392

$99,613

-0.3%

-2.5%

Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car

$27,841

$27,372

$28,516

1.7%

-2.4%

Luxury Car

$58,771

$59,795

$60,305

-1.7%

-2.5%

Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover

$46,781

$46,676

$46,610

0.2%

0.4%

Luxury Full-size SUV/Crossover

$86,890

$87,739

$87,458

-1.0%

-0.6%

Luxury Mid-size SUV/Crossover

$58,900

$59,690

$57,699

-1.3%

2.1%

Luxury Subcompact SUV/Crossover

$39,915

$39,509

$39,865

1.0%

0.1%

Mid-size Car

$28,250

$28,318

$26,783

-0.2%

5.5%

Mid-size Pickup Truck

$35,900

$35,835

$33,774

0.2%

6.3%

Mid-size SUV/Crossover

$40,027

$39,892

$39,045

0.3%

2.5%

Minivan

$35,270

$35,431

$35,514

-0.5%

-0.7%

Sports Car

$36,926

$36,848

$35,628

0.2%

3.6%

Subcompact Car

$16,887

$16,815

$16,454

0.4%

2.6%

Subcompact SUV/Crossover

$24,860

$24,832

$24,560

0.1%

1.2%

Van

$36,327

$36,124

$34,905

0.6%

4.1%

Grand Total

$38,393

$38,287

$38,006

0.3%

1.0%

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