Average new car prices in the U.S. were up 2% ($723) in August 2019 year-over-year, but dipped 0.1% ($54) from the previous month, according to the analysts at Kelley Blue Book.
The estimated average transaction price for a light vehicle in August was $37,401.
“Although new-vehicle pricing growth has been strong this year, we’ve also seen greater incentives to offset rising monthly payments and move slower selling new-car inventories,” said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “The ratio of incentives to average transaction prices have been above 10% this summer after being under that mark for the previous eight months, and August looks to be no different with numerous Labor Day incentive programs being run by manufacturers.”
Fleming said the trend could continue for the remainder of the year if sales “do not respond accordingly.”
In terms of how the OEMs faired, Fiat Chrysler posted more than a 6% increase, thanks to RAM (up 4%) and Jeep (up 7%). Dodge was also up this month, with prices rising 5% thanks to solid improvement from the Challenger and Charger.
Ford Motor Company increased 3%, with the Lincoln brand up the most (5%) due in part to new products like the Nautilus, refreshed MKC, and the Aviator. The redesigned Explorer offered the greatest increase in the Ford brand, rising 8%, while the refreshed Edge managed 5%.
