SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar.com estimated today that the average transaction price for light vehicles in April was $30,303, up $1,219, or 4.2 percent, from a year ago but down $445, or 1.4 percent, from last month.

"Incentives continued to decline for most automakers with the exception of Honda and Toyota, as both are vying to recapture their lost market share from last year,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for TrueCar.com. “Ford is now spending less on incentives as a percentage of their average transaction price then Honda.”

Transaction Price Forecast

Manufacturer

April 2012 Transaction Price

March 2012 Transaction Price

April 2011 Transaction Price

Percent Change April 2011 to April 2012

Percent Change March 2012 to April 2012

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

 $29,518

 $29,842

 $28,469

3.7%

-1.1%

Ford (Ford, Lincoln)

 $31,349

 $31,758

 $31,054

0.9%

-1.3%

GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

 $33,027

 $33,289

 $31,616

4.5%

-0.8%

Honda (Acura, Honda)

 $26,614

 $26,249

 $25,215

5.5%

1.4%

Hyundai/Kia

 $22,018

 $21,717

 $20,074

9.7%

1.4%

Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)

 $27,896

 $28,322

 $27,146

2.8%

-1.5%

Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)

 $27,612

 $27,396

 $26,690

3.5%

0.8%

Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen)

 $33,318

 $33,124

 $31,799

4.8%

0.6%

Industry

 $30,303

 $30,748

 $29,084

4.2%

-1.4%

TrueCar.com also estimated that the average incentive for light vehicles was $2,446 in April, down $120, 4.7 percent, from March but up $129, or 5.6 percent, from April 2011.

Average Incentives Forecast

Manufacturer

April 2012 Incentives

March 2012 Incentives

April 2011 Incentives

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

 $3,071

 $3,272

 $2,785

Ford (Ford, Lincoln)

 $2,558

 $2,840

 $2,400

GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

 $3,156

 $3,266

 $3,067

Honda (Acura, Honda)

 $2,398

 $2,220

 $2,171

Hyundai/Kia

 $1,223

 $1,237

 $1,279

Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)

 $2,723

 $3,050

 $1,997

Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)

 $1,823

 $1,745

 $1,877

Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen)

 $2,277

 $2,425

 $1,819

Industry

 $2,446

 $2,566

 $2,317

Additionally, TrueCar.com estimated that the ratio of incentives to average transaction price for light vehicles was 8.1 percent in April, up from 8 percent in April 2011 but down from 8.3 percent in March 2012.

Ratio of Incentives to Average Transaction Price

Manufacturer

April 2012 Incentives/Avg. Transaction Price

March 2012 Incentives/Avg. Transaction Price

April 2011 Incentives/ Avg. Transaction Price

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

10.4%

11.0%

9.8%

Ford (Ford, Lincoln)

8.2%

8.9%

7.7%

GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)

9.6%

9.8%

9.7%

Honda (Acura, Honda)

9.0%

8.5%

8.6%

Hyundai/Kia

5.6%

5.7%

6.4%

Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)

9.8%

10.8%

7.4%

Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)

6.6%

6.4%

7.0%

Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen)

6.8%

7.3%

5.7%

Industry

8.1%

8.3%

8.0%

 

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