New Vehicle Prices Hit Record High In June: Report

The average price paid for a new vehicle in the U.S. during June was $48,043, according to new data Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive company. This marked the highest price recorded and was the first time the average transaction price (ATP) went beyond the $48,000 mark.

What Happened: June’s price went beyond the previous record of $47,202 set in December 2021. The ATP was up by 1.9% ($895) from May and was also 12.7% higher ($5,410) from June 2021.

The average price paid last month for a new non-luxury vehicle was $43,942, another record high. Car shoppers in the non-luxury segment paid on average $1,017 above sticker price.

New-vehicle buyers have paid approximately $1,000 above the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for each month this year. In comparison, buyers in June 2021 only paid an average of $158 above the MSRP.

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Why It Happened: The imbalance between strong customer demand and an inadequate supply enabled dealers to charge prices at or above the MSRP.

Among the manufacturers, the most dramatic year-over-year percentage change for vehicle prices were Mercedes-Benz’s DMLRY Daimler at 15.7%, Volkswagen Group VWAPY at 15.4% and Honda HMC at 13.9%. Amond U.S. manufacturers, Tesla TSLA saw an 11.8% year-over-year price spike while Ford Motor Co. F was up 8.4% and General Motors GM was up 3.4%.

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However, not every manufacturer recorded year-over-year price increases. Subaru Corp. FUJHY saw a scant 0.1% dip while prices on vehicles made by Mazda Motor Corp. MZDAY dropped by 5.2%.

"While prices for the industry are, on average, higher than MSRP, there are some non-luxury segments that are more affordable such as compact cars and compact SUVs/crossovers," said Rebecca Rydzewski, research manager of economic and industry insights for Cox Automotive. "These segments are selling for more than 30% less than the industry average transaction price."

Photo: Bertknot / Flickr Creative Commons