Transaction Prices Up, Incentives Down, TrueCar Reports

The average transaction price for light vehicles in March jumped $1,977 from a year ago, while the average incentive was down 1.8 percent.

by Staff

April 3, 2012

2 min to read

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%