- New-vehicle average transaction prices (ATP) in April increased
month over month for the first time in 2024, rising to $48,510, a 2.2% jump from the revised March price
of $47,481.
- Incentives in April fell back to 6.3% of ATP. Incentives were
80% higher than one year ago when available inventory was
substantially lower.
- Volatile Tesla prices stabilized and, at the end of April, were
higher month over month by 5.7%. Tesla prices in April were lower
year over year by 3.3%.
ATLANTA, May 14, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- A downward slide in new-vehicle prices
through the first quarter of 2024 reversed course in
April, with average transaction prices (ATPs) increasing by 2.2% to
$48,510, the highest prices
since December 2023. The
April price estimates were released today by Kelley Blue Book, a
Cox Automotive brand. Year over year, new-vehicle
transaction prices were lower by 0.5%.
New-vehicle incentive levels retreated last month as well.
The average incentive package in April was 6.3% of the
average transaction price, according to Kelley Blue Book estimates,
down from 6.6% in the prior month. The incentive
decline in April was the first decrease since October 2023, when incentive levels ticked lower
to 4.7% from 4.8% in September.
Driven partly by fewer selling days, new-vehicle sales
volume in April was lower month over month. At 15.7
million in April, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR)
of sales, however, was marginally higher versus March
and flat year over year. New-vehicle inventory
levels – a key driver of price and incentives – at the
start of April were estimated by vAuto, a Cox
Automotive brand, to be higher year over year by 46%.
Inventory, however, was mostly unchanged month over
month, suggesting the rapid increase in available supply has
slowed. The increase in available inventory has kept downward
pressure on prices and is one reason average
transaction prices in April were lower year over
year.
"The month-over-month increase in pricing in April is
likely just a reflection of some pullback on incentives
compared to the end of Q1, in March, when many automakers
were pushing discounts to hit a strong finish to the
quarter," said Erin
Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive.
"Still, prices are down year over year. Affordability
challenges continue to lurk, and as inventory slowly builds, we can
expect to see incentives slowly grow through the
remainder of 2024 to help keep any sales momentum
alive."
Luxury Vehicle Share and Prices Push Overall ATP
Higher
The share of new-vehicle sales from
luxury brands in April was 18.4%, according to the Kelley Blue Book
analysis, equal to the share in March and higher than
the 18.2% in April 2023. Luxury
transaction prices increased 2.4% from the prior month
and incentives were notably lower, at 6.0% of ATP, down from 7.4%
of ATP in March.
Tesla, the luxury market leader, posted
larger-than-average ATP increases month over month in April,
with a gain of 5.7% compared to March. Volvo also
posted higher-than-average ATP increases last month. All
other luxury makes posted month-over-month gains less
than the luxury vehicle average gain of 2.4%.
Still, luxury brand prices in April were lower by 2.1%
year over year, indicating that price pressure remains front
and center. In April 2023, the
average price paid for a new luxury vehicle was a revised
$65,418. Last month,
luxury ATPs were $64,076.
Luxury brand incentive levels were higher year over year by 86%,
rising from 3.6% of ATP in April 2023 to 6.0% last month.
Non-Luxury Vehicles Prices Jump in April But Remain
Lower Year Over Year
After declining month over
month in January, February and March, non-luxury vehicle prices
reversed course and increased in April, rising to
$44,989 from a revised $44,078 in March. Prices of non-luxury vehicles
were higher month over month in April by 2.1% and were
mostly flat year over year, down by only 0.2%.
Higher prices for pickup trucks helped push non-luxury
vehicle prices higher. The average transaction price for
a full-size pickup truck in April, at
$66,631, was higher year over year by
2.8%. The small and mid-size pickup segment, which
includes the popular new Toyota Tacoma, posted a month-over-month
price increase of 3.3%. Average transaction price:
just shy of $43,000. Unlike the
broader market, pickup truck prices in April were also
higher year over year.
In April, incentives for non-luxury brands were flat
compared to March, holding steady at 6.4% of ATP.
Incentives in April were higher year over year by
85%.
Tesla Prices Increase for Second Consecutive
Month
Tesla prices, which plummeted from
$62,269 in January 2023 to $50,099 in December
2023, a decline of 19.5%, have been a key
driver of volatile price dynamics in both the luxury market and the
electric vehicle market – Tesla is the highest volume
seller in both segments, No. 1 in luxury and No. 1 in
EVs.
Electric vehicle transaction prices in April were
essentially flat versus March – up roughly 0.1% – at $55,252, an increase of only
$75 from the prior month. Year over
year, the average transaction price for an EV was down
8.5%, thanks in part to price pressure on EVs driven by
slowing sales, healthy inventory, and more competition.
Electric vehicle incentive packages remain well above the
industry average, in many cases more than 15-to-20% of
ATP.
While some high-profile and popular EVs posted significant
year-over-year price reductions in April – the Ford
Lightning, transaction prices down 23%; the Ford Mustang
Mach-e, down 15%; the Tesla Model Y, down 12%; and the
Hyundai Ioniq 6, down 10% – most EVs today are transacting for
prices lower than one year ago by approximately
4-to-5%.
Data tables are available for
download.
About Kelley Blue Book
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 for nearly a century. As the
industry standard for generations, Kelley Blue Book
provides transparent, objective information and data-driven,
innovative tools for consumers, automotive dealers and
manufacturers. The company publishes millions of
market-reflective values weekly on its top-rated
website KBB.com, from its famous Blue
Book® Trade-In Values to the
Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool,
which offers a range for what consumers reasonably can expect
to pay for a vehicle in their area. KBB.com
editors rate and review hundreds of new vehicles each year to
help consumers understand the Best
Cars and Best
SUVs to meet their needs. Kelley Blue
BookSM Instant Cash Offer
provides a redeemable trade-in offer to transaction-ready
consumers and conveniently connects them to local
participating dealers. Kelley Blue Book's Service Advisor
provides guidance on how much to pay for service and
repairs, allowing consumers to schedule service with local
dealers on KBB.com. The company also provides
vehicle values to finance and insurance companies as well as
governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox
Automotive brand.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive
is the world's largest automotive services and technology provider.
Fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data fed
by 2.3 billion online interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors
leading solutions for car shoppers, auto
manufacturers, dealers, lenders and fleets. The company has 29,000+
employees on five continents and a portfolio of
industry-leading brands that include Autotrader®, Kelley Blue
Book®, Manheim®, vAuto®, Dealertrack®, NextGear
Capital™, CentralDispatch® and FleetNet America®. Cox Automotive is
a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a
privately-owned, Atlanta-based
company with $22 billion in annual
revenue.
Visit coxautoinc.com or
connect
via @CoxAutomotive on X, CoxAutoInc on
Facebook
or Cox-Automotive-Inc on
LinkedIn.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/after-three-straight-months-of-declines-new-vehicle-prices-reversed-course-in-april-according-to-latest-kelley-blue-book-estimates-302145334.html
SOURCE Cox Automotive