SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar.com estimated today that the average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $30,748 in March, up $1,977, or 6.9 percent, from March 2011 and $143, 0.5 percent, from February 2012.

"The auto manufacturers have finally found their sweet spot, with the production of vehicles meeting the demand of consumers, keeping incentives to a minimum,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for TrueCar.com. “This led to the highest transaction prices in the industry in March, along with record highs for Chrysler, GM, Hyundai/Kia, and Nissan.”

Transaction Pricing Forecast

Manufacturer

March 2012 Transact Price

February 2012 Transact Price

March 2011 Transact Price

YOY % Change

MOM % Change

Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat)

 $29,842

 $29,458

 $28,052

6.4%

1.3%

Ford (Ford, Lincoln)

 $31,758

 $31,644

 $30,524

4.0%

0.4%

GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

 $33,289

 $33,086

 $32,200

3.4%

0.6%

Honda (Acura, Honda)

 $26,249

 $26,141

 $24,876

5.5%

0.4%

Hyundai/Kia

 $21,717

 $21,502

 $19,857

9.4%

1.0%

Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)

 $28,322

 $28,105

 $26,364

7.4%

0.8%

Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)

 $27,396

 $27,012

 $26,214

4.5%

1.4%

Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen)

 $33,124

 $33,159

 $31,378

5.6%

-0.1%

Industry

 $30,748

 $30,605

 $28,771

6.9%

0.5%

 

In addition, TrueCar.com estimated that the average incentive for light-vehicles was $2,440 in March 2012, down $43 (1.8 percent) from March 2011 and $36 (1.5 percent) from February 2012.

Average Incentives Forecast

Manufacturer

March

2012

Incentives

February

2012

Incentives

March

2011

Incentives

YOY

%

Change

MOM

%

Change

Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat)

 $3,137

 $3,195

 $2,971

5.6%

-1.8%

Ford (Ford, Lincoln)

 $2,726

 $2,833

 $2,804

-2.8%

-3.8%

GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

 $3,144

 $3,116

 $3,314

-5.1%

0.9%

Honda (Acura, Honda)

 $2,122

 $2,126

 $2,309

-8.1%

-0.2%

Hyundai/Kia

 $882

 $841

 $1,270

-30.6%

4.8%

Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)

 $3,115

 $3,233

 $2,433

28.0%

-3.7%

Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)

 $1,704

 $1,619

 $1,969

-13.5%

5.2%

Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen)

 $2,021

 $2,077

 $1,934

4.5%

-2.7%

Industry

 $2,440

 $2,476

 $2,483

-1.8%

-1.5%

 

TrueCar.com estimated that the ratio of incentives to average transaction price for light-vehicles was 7.9 percent in March 2012, down from 8.6 percent in March 2011 and down from 8.1 percent in February 2012.

Ratio of Incentives to Average Transaction Price

Manufacturer

March

2012

Incentives/

Avg.

Transact

Price

Feb

2012

Incentives/

Avg.

Transact

Price

March

2011

Incentives/

Avg.

Transact

Price

YOY

Percent

Change

MOM

Percent

Change

Chrysler

10.5%

10.8%

10.6%

-0.1%

-0.3%

Ford

8.6%

9.0%

9.2%

-0.6%

-0.4%

GM

9.4%

9.4%

10.3%

-0.8%

0.0%

Honda

8.1%

8.1%

9.3%

-1.2%

0.0%

Hyundai/Kia

4.1%

3.9%

6.4%

-2.3%

0.1%

Nissan

11.0%

11.5%

9.2%

1.8%

-0.5%

Toyota

6.2%

6.0%

7.5%

-1.3%

0.2%

Volkswagen

6.1%

6.3%

6.2%

-0.1%

-0.2%

Industry

7.9%

8.1%

8.6%

-0.7%

-0.2%

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