Average new vehicle prices in the U.S. increased $1,660 (4.3%) in March year-over-year, but declined $608 (1.5%) from the previous month, according to Kelley Blue Book.
“March average transaction prices continued to perform above the threshold of $40,000, even with near-record retail volume last month,” said Kayla Reynolds, Industry Intelligence Analyst at Cox Automotive. “The Electric Vehicle category is a segment to watch, as affordable new models continue to roll in and drive down year-over-year pricing.”
Most OEMs experienced YOY movement in average transaction prices for March 2021, with Volkswagen Group reporting the largest increase from last year — up 15.4%. Audi was up 10.8% and Volkswagen 10.7%, and both were included in the top 10 YOY brand increases. Porsche dipped 0.5% from March 2020.
While Audi A7, which has an average transaction price of $102,000, more than doubled its YOY sales for March, the Porsche Taycan, which has an average transaction price of $137,000, declined more than 30% in average transaction price.
On the segment level, minivans experienced the largest YOY growth — up 16.75%, which was followed by the high-performance segment (managing a more than 11% growth YOY in average transaction price). Electric Vehicles were down the most in transaction pricing YOY for March — by 4.93%.
“While electrified vehicle consideration increases, automakers have continued producing more affordable options,” said KBB in its news release. “Ford has introduced the Mustang Mach-E, which is reasonably priced with an average transaction price of $56,000 in March 2021, just above the segment average. The new Volkswagen ID.4, which began sales in Q1, is transacting at $45,287.”
KBB also said the drop in price of the Tesla Model S (down 7% YOY) and the introduction of the Model Y (priced at $54,000) shifted the average transaction price of the segment overall, while lower prices for the Porsche Taycan also helped push down that overall average.
