KBB: New-Car Transaction Prices Climb Nearly 2% Year-Over-Year in April

Staff Report

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017

The analysts at Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today reported the estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $34,552 in April 2017.  New-car prices have increased by $579 (up 1.7 percent) from April 2016, while falling $48 (down 0.1 percent) from last month.   

"While new vehicle sales appear to be on the decline, most manufacturers are seeing higher retail transaction prices, with the industry average on new-car prices up for the month by nearly 2 percent," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book.  "These increases appear to be primarily driven by the shift in demand toward SUVs, even with growing segments, such as subcompact SUVs and luxury compact SUVs, seeing year-over-year price declines.  Kelley Blue Book anticipates average transaction prices will likely begin to decrease when the sales mix of SUVs eventually levels off." 

Manufacturer

April

 2017

Transaction
Price

(Avg.)*

March

2017

Transaction
Price

(Avg.)*

April

2016
Transaction
Price

(Avg.)*

Percent
Change
March
2017 to
April
2017*

Percent
Change
April

2016 to
April
2017*

American Honda (Acura, Honda)

$27,749

$27,747

$27,395

0.0%

1.3%

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

$36,353

$36,521

$35,199

-0.5%

3.3%

Ford Motor Company (Ford, Lincoln)

$38,647

$38,697

$37,451

-0.1%

3.2%

General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

$38,339

$38,399

$38,590

-0.2%

-0.7%

Hyundai-Kia

$24,911

$24,859

$24,241

0.2%

2.8%

Nissan North America (Nissan, Infiniti)

$29,378

$29,547

$27,628

-0.6%

6.3%

Subaru

$28,536

$28,559

$28,098

-0.1%

1.6%

Toyota Motor Company (Lexus, Toyota)

$31,460

$31,557

$31,183

-0.3%

0.9%

Volkswagen  Group (Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche)

$39,382

$38,900

$40,422

1.2%

-2.6%

Industry

$34,552

$34,600

$33,973

-0.1%

1.7%

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

Fiat Chrysler was up more than 3 percent year-over-year in April 2017.  The Chrysler brand saw an 11 percent increase, due to the new Pacifica minivan and lower sales of the 200 sedan.  Meanwhile, Jeep increased 5 percent thanks to a stronger mix of the Grand Cherokee as the smaller Compass SUV changes to a new generation.  The RAM brand, however, was down 3 percent as full-size pickup truck prices continue to dip.

Conversely, General Motors average transaction prices fell nearly 1 percent, with only the Buick brand posting a year-over-year increase.  The redesigned LaCrosse sedan, which was up 9 percent, and the all-new Envision SUV helped boost Buick's growth.  The Chevrolet brand saw a 2 percent decline, with the Silverado down 4 percent from last year.

Segment

April

 2017

Transaction

Price

(Avg.)*

March

2017

Transaction

Price

(Avg.)*

April

2016

Transaction

Price

(Avg.)*

Percent

Change

March

2017 to

April

 2017*

Percent

Change

April

2016 to

April

2017*

Compact Car

$20,577

$20,600

$20,280

-0.1%

1.5%

Compact SUV/Crossover

$28,507

$28,449

$28,035

0.2%

1.7%

Electric Vehicle

$37,492

$37,426

$41,148

0.2%

-8.9%

Entry-Level Luxury Car

$41,643

$41,887

$40,479

-0.6%

2.9%

Full-Size Car

$34,736

$34,570

$34,236

0.5%

1.5%

Full-Size Pickup Truck

$46,182

$46,160

$46,438

0.0%

-0.6%

Full-Size SUV/Crossover

$60,771

$60,409

$60,175

0.6%

1.0%

High Performance Car

$92,694

$91,469

$92,966

1.3%

-0.3%

High-End Luxury Car

$95,545

$96,217

$94,395

-0.7%

1.2%

Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car

$25,157

$25,330

$26,307

-0.7%

-4.4%

Luxury Car

$56,957

$56,917

$56,338

0.1%

1.1%

Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover

$42,915

$43,091

$43,652

-0.4%

-1.7%

Luxury Full-Size SUV/Crossover

$83,689

$82,712

$83,681

1.2%

0.0%

Luxury Mid-Size SUV/Crossover

$54,418

$54,961

$55,187

-1.0%

-1.4%

Mid-Size Car

$25,059

$25,006

$25,087

0.2%

-0.1%

Mid-Size Pickup Truck

$31,576

$31,878

$31,682

-0.9%

-0.3%

Mid-Size SUV/Crossover

$37,327

$37,211

$37,608

0.3%

-0.7%

Minivan

$33,164

$33,211

$32,096

-0.1%

3.3%

Sports Car

$31,468

$31,119

$31,852

1.1%

-1.2%

Subcompact Car

$16,283

$16,439

$16,418

-0.9%

-0.8%

Subcompact SUV/Crossover

$24,588

$24,507

$24,895

0.3%

-1.2%

Van

$33,882

$33,864

$33,378

0.1%

1.5%

Grand Total

$34,552

$34,600

$33,973

-0.1%

1.7%

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