Is it correct that the average price of a new car sale (ATP) has decreased? KBB, which noticed that the ATP was lower in March than the month before, agreed. The time that has passed since then is close to two years. Because the price only went down by 1.1%, the average price, now just over $48,000, is still high. But this is the first sign that the long-term pressure on increasing prices is easing. You probably know that it’s because more new cars are on the market than in past years of the global pandemic. When buyers have choices, it’s harder for sellers to raise prices in other ways. In the last 20 months, the average price of a new car has never been less than what it says on the window. The average cost of a new car has been slowly increasing for more than two years. This is due to dealer markups reminding us that getting a car on a Saturday is a great way to lose your temper. According to figures from Kelley Blue Book, the average person who bought a new car in March, you spent less than the price of the window. “Whew,” KBB wrote on Twitter. In March, a new car’s average transaction price (ATP) dropped to $48,008. This is still a very high price. It has gone down by 1.1% since February. Early on in the outbreak, worries about the supply chain and higher demand drove up the prices of new cars, and they kept going up after that. For example, General Motors said that the average cost of a vehicle sold in the first quarter of 2021 was $3,500 more than in the previous quarter. Prior to the pandemic, it was anticipated that the cost of living would increase by an additional $1800 in 2019, compared to 2018, $3301 over the course of 2020, and $6220 over the course of 2021. Rewards Are Born Again In 2023, there will be even more brand-new cars on the market, giving people a sense of choice. Because of this, manufacturers are once again forced to offer incentives. According to KBB data, last month’s average incentive discount was 3.2% of the deal, or $1,516. According to KBB, the average retail prices of a wide variety of brands fell, including those of Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Chrysler, Dodge, Chevrolet, and Dodge. Rebecca Rydzewski, research manager of economic and industry analytics for Cox Automotive, which owns KBB, thinks that “more vehicles on dealer lots—and their competitors’ lots—means dealers don’t have the pricing power they did six months ago.” Is a price of $50,000 the way of the future? Where we go from here is the most critical question. In March, Jack Hollis, who is in charge of sales for Toyota North America, said that the average price of a new car would be more than $50,000 by 2023. Given that the ATP for December was $4951, that doesn’t seem too crazy. We can better understand how prices for new cars are changing if we put them into groups. For instance, the average cost of a brand-new luxury car was $65,202 last month, almost the same as in February. Prices for electric vehicles are going up. In March, the average price was $58,940. It went down by $313 in February. Since January, a non-luxury car’s average cost has been decreasing. In March, it was $44,182.
