agent Entrepreneur logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

New-Vehicle Incentives Dwindle as Sales Fall

Spring rush fading followed by flat ATPs, rising MSRPs and less generous purchase motivators.

June 11, 2025
New-Vehicle Incentives Dwindle as Sales Fall

Cox said Volkswagen, Mazda, Land Rover, Volvo and BMW cut incentive spending by more than 10%. Most other automakers also reduced the breaks.

Credit:

Volkswagen

2 min to read


May’s drop in sales from the unusually strong spring surge nevertheless came with flat incentives and elevated MSRPs.

New-vehicle deliveries fell 10% month-over-month to 15.6 million units, Cox Automotive said, as the rush of consumers fueled by fears of tariff-jacked prices faded. 

Ad Loading...

Meanwhile, overall incentives were essentially flat compared to both April and a year earlier at just under 7% of the average transaction price as most automakers cut the breaks.

The average manufacturer’s suggested retail price, meanwhile, rose about half a percentage point month-over-month to its highest of the year so far at $50,968 and up 2% year-over-year after peaking in December at $51,990.

The average transaction price was therefore also flat at $48,799, though that’s up 1% year-over-year, Cox said.

“While tariff policy is adding uncertainty to the new-vehicle market, prices are holding remarkably steady, a reminder that auto industry change is often slow,” said Cox Executive Analyst Erin Keating. 

She predicted vehicle price inflation this summer due to trade tariffs’ impact.

Ad Loading...

“Right now, we believe dealer profitability is being squeezed, as costs on many products are going up, but raising retail prices in this environment is a real challenge.”

Meanwhile, the electric-vehicle ATP fell 2% month-over-month to $57,734, or 1% year-over-year, as the average incentive package rose from about 12% of ATP to 14%, or more than twice industrywide incentives. 

ATPs of EV market leader Tesla alone fell about 2% from April and 3% year-over-year. That included the best-selling EV in the U.S., its Model Y, whose ATP fell 3%.

LEARN MORE: Trump 2.0 and Retail Automotive

Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today

More Industry

Photo of Cadillac Lyriq SUV on road with partly cloudy sky in background
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 16, 2026

Used Autos Selling for More

A recent price spike due to several larger market forces, though it hasn’t dulled demand, is pushing more consumers to efficient models to squeeze in buys.

Read More →
Photo of facade of Waldorf Toyota car dealership
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 16, 2026

Maryland Auto Group Sells

A group out West picked up the major D.C.-area collection, putting it in the upper tiers of private automotive groups in the U.S.

Read More →
Photo of several cars on lifts in a service center
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 9, 2026

Franchised Dealers Stand to Gain Service Business

Cox Automotive research shows both the opportunities and the challenges in turning consumers’ growing affordability needs into increased fixed-operations revenue.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Photo of office desk with open laptop on it and an empty chair next to it
IndustryApril 9, 2026

What Matters Most in Building Your Agency

The partner you choose for growth and expansion is key, because better is the ultimate goal instead of growth for growth’s sake.

Read More →
car with hood open, an arm holding a wrench, The most loyal generation text, Agent Entrepreneur logo
Industryby Lauren LawrenceApril 9, 2026

Service Drives Gen Z Loyalty

The dealership profit center plays an important role in customer retention, and generation Z customers are showing the highest loyalty rates, based on recent CDK Global data.

Read More →
Photo of man with most of his face hidden as he types on a computer keyboard
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 2, 2026

Fake Auto Dealer Websites Frauding Consumers

The Point Predictive study traced a pattern across more than 100 websites it believes are being developed by an international theft ring.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
photo of Volkswagen vehicle steering wheel and interior
Industryby Hannah MitchellApril 1, 2026

One of Earliest U.S. Auto Dealers Exits

The sale of two Minnesota franchises ends a rare multigenerational business while adding to one of the Midwest’s biggest auto groups.

Read More →
chart showing the quarterly electric vehicle market share from 2020-2025
Industryby Lauren LawrenceMarch 27, 2026

EV Sales Slide While Hybrids Climb

California, as usual, led the country in EV registrations in the fourth quarter, but the U.S. as a whole saw a 43% year-over-year volume decrease.

Read More →
Photo of new car's tail light
Industryby Hannah MitchellMarch 26, 2026

New-Vehicle Sales Ride Tax Returns Wave

Forecasts show that the spring sales season is rising above overriding economic concerns, among them continuously rising car prices, trade tariffs, elevated interest rates, and now a war.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Photo of Toyota car parked in front of a Toyota dealership
Industryby Hannah MitchellMarch 23, 2026

2025 Dealership Buy-Sells a Record

The Kerrigan Index shows that despite a chaotic year of musical trade tariffs, high vehicle prices and more roadblocks, acquirers still flush with pandemic-era cash accelerated the consolidation pace.

Read More →