Average new car transaction price hits $48,094 in September, setting new record
Mass-market buyers finally pay less than $1,000 over MSRP in 2022
The wall of unfortunate economic news for the average consumer is beginning to show cracks, at least in some places. Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book has run the initial numbers on average transaction prices (ATP) for new cars in September, and compared to August, buyers are paying a mite less. Keep in mind, these ATP figures are estimates and liable to updates as more data comes in. Cox Automotive told us it "reports the previous month's numbers on about the 10th day after the previous month’s close and, at the same time, updates and revises the data for prior months. After about 3 months have passed, the data is stable, and revisions are rare. Because these are estimates, the long-term trends are the key takeaways from the reports."
The upshots: August's average ATP has been revised downward from $48,301 to $48,240. Even with that, though, September's initial ATP slots in below, at $48,094. That's less than an Andrew Jackson away from July's ATP of $48,080. For the time being, the calculations equal a 0.3% drop from August, a 6.1% increase over September 2021. The 6.1% increase is also a welcome trend; the August 2022 ATP was 10.8% above the August 2021 ATP.
What's more, ATPs dropped when broken out by segment. Luxury shoppers claimed a record 18% share of car buyers in September. Their ATP fell to $65,775, a neat $60 below the revised luxury ATP figures for August. Prices paid to get out the door are still over MSRP, but they are closing the gap to MSRP. The data showed Mercedes-Benz flexing "the most price strength in the luxury market" with prices 2-4% over sticker, same as a surprise challenger from across The Channel, Jaguar. Just as surprising, we're told "Audi, Alfa Romeo, Infiniti, Lexus, Porsche, and Tesla showed the least price strength, selling 1% or more below MSRP in September." Did not expect to see Porsche and Tesla in any such sentence.
Outside the VIP room, mass-market buyers gave themselves a slight reprieve by paying an ATP of $44,215. That represents $256 down on the revised August number and "just" $829 over sticker, the three-figure sum still shocking but less than the four-figure overage in August. Continuing the run of surprises, Buick, Dodge, and Mazda played the strongest hands in September, while Ford, Honda, and Toyota sold below MSRP.
Out by the charging stations, KBB says electric vehicles posted record Q3 sales of more than 200,000 units, roughly 6% of total sales. Despite that, ATP fell in September to $65,291, a whopping $1,162 down on August. We suspect that's because the wave of vehicles being sold included many below the EV-typical luxury pricing. The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y whipped everything, of course, but the Chevrolet Bolt, for instance, posted a record Q3 with 14,709 units moved, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit moved nearly 21,000 units combined.
Stats from the last two months:
- August 2022 ATP: $48,240
- August Non-Luxury ATP: $44,471
- August Luxury ATP: $65,835
- August EV ATP: $66,453
- September 2022 ATP: $48,094
- September Non-Luxury ATP: $44,215
- September Luxury ATP: $65,775
- September EV ATP: $65,291
SOURCE: autoblog