TrueCar.com: Average Transaction Prices Reach Historic Highs in July

Despite continued weakness in the economy and concerns over the debt ceiling, consumers continued to purchase vehicles packed with options in July, according to TrueCar.com.

by Staff

August 9, 2011

3 min to read

TrueCar.com estimated that the average transaction price for light vehicles in July increased 2 percent to $29,761 from the year-ago period. On a month-to-month basis, transaction prices increase 0.3 percent from June 2011.

“Despite continued weakness in the economy and the ongoing concern over the debt ceiling, consumers continued to purchase vehicles packed with options in July,” said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights for TrueCar.com. “Tightened inventories, lower dealer discounting and manufacturer incentives, along with a more expensive product mix resulted in the highest transaction prices we have recorded in the industry.”

The new-car pricing and trends Website estimated that the average incentive for light-vehicles was $2,418 in July 2011, down 15.1 percent from July 2010 and up 0.7 percent from June 2011.

“July is typically the beginning of the summer sell-down for automakers, but with inventories lacking on dealership lots, incentives are down significantly this year,” said Kristen Andersson, automotive analyst at TrueCar.com. “There just aren’t enough cars to sell, as in years past.”

TrueCar.com estimated that the ratio of incentives to average transaction price for light vehicles was 8.1 percent in July 2011, down from 9.8 percent in July 2010 and flat from June 2011.

Transaction Pricing Forecast
Manufacturer	July 2011 Transaction Price	June 2011 Transaction Price	July 2010 Transaction Price	Percent Change July 2010 to July 2011	Percent Change June 2011 to July 2011
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat)	$28,834	$28,568	$28,591	0.9%	0.9%
Ford (Ford, Lincoln)	$32,714	$32,599	$31,353	4.3%	0.4%
GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)	$33,804	$33,842	$33,145	2.0%	-0.1%
Honda (Acura, Honda)	$25,836	$25,763	$24,957	3.5%	0.3%
Hyundai/Kia	$20,575	$20,510	$19,878	3.5%	0.3%
Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)	$27,464	$27,595	$26,862	2.2%	-0.5%
Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)	$25,710	$25,842	$25,421	1.1%	-0.5%
Industry	$29,761	$29,659	$29,179	2.0%	0.3%

Incentive Spending Forecast
Manufacturer	July 2011 Incentives	June 2011 Incentives	July 2010 Incentives	Percent Change July 2010 to July 2011	Percent Change June 2011 to July 2011
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat)	$3,162	$3,095	$3,656	-13.5%	2.2%
Ford (Ford, Lincoln)	$2,747	$2,641	$3,062	-10.3%	4.0%
GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)	$3,026	$2,948	$3,818	-20.8%	2.7%
Honda (Acura, Honda)	$1,901	$1,766	$2,231	-14.8%	7.6%
Hyundai/Kia	$1,452	$1,364	$2,029	-28.4%	6.4%
Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)	$2,412	$2,214	$3,139	-23.2%	8.9%
Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)	$1,942	$1,891	$2,022	-4.0%	2.7%
Industry	$2,418	$2,401	$2,849	-15.1%	0.7%

Ratio of Incentives to Average Transaction Price
Manufacturer	July 2011 Incentives/Avg. Transaction Price	June 2011 Incentives/ Avg. Transaction Price	July 2010 Incentives/ Avg. Transaction Price	Percent Change July 2010 to July 2011	Percent Change June 2011 to July 2011
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat)	11.0%	10.8%	12.8%	-1.8%	0.1%
Ford (Ford, Lincoln)	8.4%	8.1%	9.8%	-1.4%	0.3%
GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)	9.0%	8.7%	11.5%	-2.6%	0.2%
Honda (Acura, Honda)	7.4%	6.9%	8.9%	-1.6%	0.5%
Hyundai/Kia	7.1%	6.7%	10.2%	-3.1%	0.4%
Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)	8.8%	8.0%	11.7%	-2.9%	0.8%
Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)	7.6%	7.3%	8.0%	-0.4%	0.2%
Industry	8.1%	8.1%	9.8%	-1.6%	0.0%