The rising trend is driven by truck and SUV sales.
It is not surprising that prices in the used and new car markets are rising. There are many factors that can be attributed to this trend. While we won’t get into too many details, it is important to mention the ongoing coronavirus virus pandemic and other factors such as production disruptions, financial inflation, and chip shortage. These negative conditions lead to high prices. A new report suggests that we may have hit new records.
Kelley Blue Book reported that the September average price for a new car in the United States was $45,031, marking the first time in American history that the average transaction price has exceeded $45,000. Kelley Blue Book points out that this month was the sixth consecutive one with record-high prices. Although September sales were down by 7.3 percent, the market’s nature meant that average prices kept rising. Customers continued to buy large, expensive SUVs or trucks which maintained high average prices.
Kayla Reynolds, analyst at Cox Automotive comments that September’s record-breaking prices are mostly due to the mix of vehicles sold. “Midsize SUV sales increased in September compared with August and full-size pickup share also rose.” The summer’s higher-priced compact cars and midsize cars were losing market share in September. The average car price for September 2021 is $11,000 more than the December 2016 average. An CarBuzz report almost five years back shows that the average new car cost was $34,077. This was 12.6 percent higher than the value five year ago. The same market trends accounted for the higher prices five years ago.