Robust Utility, Truck Demand Fuels Average New-Car Price Increase for June 2018, According to Kelley Blue Book

IRVINE, Calif., July 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The analysts at Kelley Blue Book today reported the estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $35,511 in June 2018. New-vehicle prices increased by $736 (up 2.1 percent) from June 2017, while rising $118 (up 0.3 percent) from last month.

"Helped once again by robust demand for SUVs and trucks, average transaction prices were up a solid 2 percent in June 2018," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "The mix of light trucks is estimated to be at 69 percent, up from 64 percent just one year ago. Last month was particularly strong for pickup trucks, as full-size truck prices rose 5 percent on new models and richer trim mixes. The underlying strength of trucks is best represented by the mid-size truck segment, which despite no new products, saw prices climb 3 percent."

    Manufacturer                                          June                                 May                   June             Percent          Percent
                                                                         2018                              2018                  2017     Change           Change
                                                       Transaction                         Transaction           Transaction            May              June
                                                      Price (Avg.)*                       Price (Avg.)*         Price (Avg.)*         2018 to          2017 to
                                                                                                                                         June             June
                                                                                                                                        2018*            2018*
    ---                                                                                                                         ---     ----            -----

    American Honda
     (Acura, Honda)                                                   $28,288                           $28,118               $27,724             0.6%             2.0%
    ---------------                                                   -------                           -------               -------              ---               ---

    Fiat Chrysler (Alfa
     Romeo, Chrysler,
     Dodge, Fiat, Jeep,
     RAM)                                                             $37,435                           $37,159               $37,061             0.7%             1.0%
    -------------------                                               -------                           -------               -------              ---               ---

    Ford Motor Company
     (Ford, Lincoln)                                                  $39,916                           $39,839               $38,760             0.2%             3.0%
    ------------------                                                -------                           -------               -------              ---               ---

    General Motors
     (Buick, Cadillac,
     Chevrolet, GMC)                                                  $41,004                           $40,715               $39,144             0.7%             4.7%
    ------------------                                                -------                           -------               -------              ---               ---

    Hyundai-Kia                                                       $25,009                           $24,928               $25,356             0.3%            -1.4%
    -----------                                                       -------                           -------               -------              ---              ----

    Nissan North America
     (Nissan, Infiniti)                                               $29,358                           $29,401               $28,661            -0.1%             2.4%
    --------------------                                              -------                           -------               -------             ----               ---

    Subaru                                                            $28,423                           $28,395               $28,227             0.1%             0.7%
    ------                                                            -------                           -------               -------              ---               ---

    Toyota Motor Company
     (Lexus, Toyota)                                                  $32,263                           $32,309               $31,453            -0.1%             2.6%
    --------------------                                              -------                           -------               -------             ----               ---

    Volkswagen  Group
     (Audi, Volkswagen,
     Porsche)                                                         $41,255                           $41,380               $40,117            -0.3%             2.8%
    -------------------                                               -------                           -------               -------             ----               ---

    Industry                                                          $35,511                           $35,393               $34,775             0.3%             2.1%
    --------                                                          -------                           -------               -------              ---               ---

    *Kelley Blue Book average transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite strength among SUVs and trucks, Toyota Motor Company increased its transaction prices nearly 3 percent, thanks to its cars. Toyota was helped most by the redesigned Camry, which was up 9 percent, and the redesigned Avalon also posted strong numbers, up 7 percent. The Lexus brand increased more than 3 percent, as the redesigned LS sedan continued to show the most improvement, up 14 percent.

Hyundai-Kia prices were slightly down in June 2018, although the Kia brand did rise nearly 1 percent. Kia was helped by the new Stinger model, as well as the Niro, whose plug-in hybrid variant pushed prices up 2 percent. For Hyundai, both the Elantra and Sonata were down, and the new Kona crossover brought down average transaction prices due to its low starting price. The Genesis brand was up 3 percent, largely due to the G80's new 3.3 Turbo Sport trim.

    Segment                                                                                   June                 May                June              Percent          Percent
                                                                                                          2018                2018                2017     Change            Change
                                                                                           Transaction         Transaction         Transaction         May 2018            June
                                                                                              Price               Price               Price             to June          2017 to
                                                                                             (Avg.)*             (Avg.)*             (Avg.)*             2018*             June
                                                                                                                                                                           2018*
    ---                                                                                                                                                           ---     -----

    Compact Car                                                                                        $20,545             $20,520             $20,396              0.1%             0.7%
    -----------                                                                                        -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Compact SUV/Crossover                                                                              $28,400             $28,456             $28,057             -0.2%             1.2%
    ---------------------                                                                              -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    Electric Vehicle                                                                                   $37,173             $36,475             $37,425              1.9%            -0.7%
    ----------------                                                                                   -------             -------             -------               ---              ----

    Entry-level Luxury Car                                                                             $41,869             $41,820             $42,144              0.1%            -0.7%
    ----------------------                                                                             -------             -------             -------               ---              ----

    Full-size Car                                                                                      $34,623             $34,598             $34,494              0.1%             0.4%
    -------------                                                                                      -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Full-size Pickup Truck                                                                             $49,017             $48,191             $46,566              1.7%             5.3%
    ----------------------                                                                             -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Full-Size SUV/Crossover                                                                            $62,925             $63,401             $60,686             -0.7%             3.7%
    -----------------------                                                                            -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    High Performance Car                                                                               $94,799             $97,601             $90,103             -2.9%             5.2%
    --------------------                                                                               -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    High-end Luxury Car                                                                                $98,995             $99,034             $95,029              0.0%             4.2%
    -------------------                                                                                -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Hybrid/Alternative Energy Car                                                                      $27,126             $27,423             $26,417             -1.1%             2.7%
    -----------------------------                                                                      -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    Luxury Car                                                                                         $58,270             $58,899             $57,261             -1.1%             1.8%
    ----------                                                                                         -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    Luxury Compact SUV/Crossover                                                                       $44,800             $44,623             $43,195              0.4%             3.7%
    ----------------------------                                                                       -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Luxury Full-size SUV/Crossover                                                                     $88,226             $88,949             $81,245             -0.8%             8.6%
    ------------------------------                                                                     -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    Luxury Mid-size SUV/Crossover                                                                      $55,547             $55,526             $55,839              0.0%            -0.5%
    -----------------------------                                                                      -------             -------             -------               ---              ----

    Mid-size Car                                                                                       $25,606             $25,704             $24,961             -0.4%             2.6%
    ------------                                                                                       -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    Mid-size Pickup Truck                                                                              $33,299             $33,161             $32,192              0.4%             3.4%
    ---------------------                                                                              -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Mid-size SUV/Crossover                                                                             $38,196             $38,050             $37,870              0.4%             0.9%
    ----------------------                                                                             -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Minivan                                                                                            $34,374             $34,197             $33,297              0.5%             3.2%
    -------                                                                                            -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Sports Car                                                                                         $31,757             $31,980             $30,763             -0.7%             3.2%
    ----------                                                                                         -------             -------             -------              ----               ---

    Subcompact Car                                                                                     $15,266             $15,155             $15,447              0.7%            -1.2%
    --------------                                                                                     -------             -------             -------               ---              ----

    Subcompact SUV/Crossover                                                                           $24,278             $24,270             $24,283              0.0%             0.0%
    ------------------------                                                                           -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Van                                                                                                $34,944             $34,744             $34,501              0.6%             1.3%
    ---                                                                                                -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    Grand Total                                                                                        $35,511             $35,393             $34,775              0.3%             2.1%
    -----------                                                                                        -------             -------             -------               ---               ---

    *Kelley Blue Book average transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb, follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kbb_com/ (or @kbb_com), and get updates on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+kbb.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week the company provides market-reflective values on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values and Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool, which provides a range for what consumers can reasonably expect to pay for a vehicle in their area. Car owners looking to sell immediately can also get a redeemable, transaction-ready offer with Kelley Blue Book(SM) Instant Cash Offer. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox Automotive brand.

About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive Inc. makes buying, selling and owning cars easier for everyone. The global company's 34,000-plus team members and family of brands, including Autotrader(®), Dealer.com(®), Dealertrack(®), Kelley Blue Book(®), Manheim(®), NextGear Capital(®), VinSolutions(®), vAuto(®) and Xtime(®),( )are passionate about helping millions of car shoppers, 40,000 auto dealer clients across 100+ countries and many others throughout the automotive industry thrive for generations to come. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately-owned, Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion. coxautoinc.com

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/robust-utility-truck-demand-fuels-average-new-car-price-increase-for-june-2018-according-to-kelley-blue-book-300675707.html

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book