Buyers Paid Less for Cars in April than in March

May 3, 2012

2 min to read

Consumers paid higher prices for new cars in April than a year earlier, but less than they paid in March. According to a survey from research and forecasting company TrueCar.com the average transaction price for light vehicles in the U.S. totaled $30,303 in April. The recent average is $1,219 or 4.2 percent higher than in April 2011 and down $445 or 1.4 percent compared with March 2012.

TrueCar also estimated the average incentive for light vehicles was $2,446 last month, up $129 or 5.6 percent from April 2011 and down $120 or 4.7 percent from March 2012, reported The Wall Street Journal.

“Incentives continued to decline for most automakers with the exception of Honda and Toyota as both are vying for recapturing their lost market share from last year,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with TrueCar. “Ford is now spending less on incentives as a percentage of their average transaction price than Honda.”

The following charts show average prices and incentives for the top eight car makers.

Transaction Pricing 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%

In addition, TrueCar.com estimated that the average incentive for light-vehicles was $2,446 in April 2012, down $120 (4.7 percent) from March 2012 and up $129 (5.6 percent) from April 2011.

Average Incentives Forecast

Manufacturer	April 2012 Incentives	March 2012 Incentives	April 2011 Incentives	Percent Change April 2011 to April 2012	Percent Change March 2012 to April 2012
Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat)	$3,071	$3,272	$2,785	10.3%	-6.1%
Ford (Ford, Lincoln)	$2,558	$2,840	$2,400	6.6%	-9.9%
GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)	$3,156	$3,266	$3,067	2.9%	-3.4%
Honda (Acura, Honda)	$2,398	$2,220	$2,171	10.5%	8.0%
Hyundai/Kia	$1,223	$1,237	$1,279	-4.4%	-1.1%
Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti)	$2,723	$3,050	$1,997	36.4%	-10.7%
Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)	$1,823	$1,745	$1,877	-2.9%	4.4%
Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen)	$2,277	$2,425	$1,819	25.2%	-6.1%
Industry	$2,446	$2,566	$2,317	5.6%	-4.7%