- What’s this, an actual decline in the average new-vehicle transaction price (ATP)? Apparently, yes, said KBB, which reported that the ATP in March was down from the month before. It’s been almost two years since that happened.
- The decline was only 1.1 percent, meaning the average price is still high, at just over $48,000. But it’s the first sign that the relentless upward pricing pressure is starting to fade away.
- You can probably guess the reasons, which center on increased new-vehicle supply compared to the last few years of the global pandemic. And once shoppers have options, dealers can’t use as many price-increasing tricks.
It’s been a while—20 months, to be exact—but the average price of a new car is once again below the official sticker price. For almost two years now, the average new car price has kept climbing and climbing, assisted by plenty of dealer markups that regularly reminded us that car shopping is a perfectly good way to get frustrated on a Saturday. But, according to data from Kelley Blue Book, the average new-car buyer paid less than the sticker price in March. As KBB’s Twitter account said, “Whew.”
The average transaction price (ATP) for a new vehicle also dropped in March, down to a still-high $48,008. Compared to February, though, it’s down 1.1 percent.
New-car prices started skyrocketing in the early days of the pandemic when supply-chain problems and strong demand pushed them up, and then they just sort of kept rolling. Back in the first quarter of 2021, for example, General Motors said its transaction prices rose by an average of $3500 per vehicle compared to the previous quarter. Before the pandemic, in 2019, the average prices were up $1800 compared to 2018, then went up another $3301 in 2020 and another $6220 in 2021.
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Ahem. *Ray of sunshine appears. Heavenly organ chords play* For the first time in almost 2 years, the average new car buyer paid less than sticker last month. Less than sticker. Whew.
