Though new-vehicle inventory has increased this year as supply-chain problems have started to ease, the full picture is more complicated, as a recent CarGurus report explains.

Despite the pressure of steadily increasing interest rates, seasonal consumer demand remained robust in March, CarGurus said, helping to keep prices up despite improving inventory.

Prices of new and used models were up for the month, the report said, despite a 92% annual increase in new-vehicle inventory, which CarGurus said was up 5% month-over-month.

The average listing price of used vehicles rose nearly 3% month-over-month to $30,300. That was still 5.4% under a year earlier. Meanwhile, average new-vehicle prices increased 1% month-over-month to $51,000, 7.3% above year-earlier prices.

“While consumers are navigating unique challenges this year, including rising interest rates and ongoing supply limitations, seasonal demand in both the new and used segments has remained strong,” said CarGurus Director of Industry Insights and Analytics Kevin Roberts said in the report.

“Notably, there is hope for a future reprieve on pricing. With fleet sales expected to have largely influenced year-over-year new vehicle demand increases, we’re hoping to see more production of lower priced vehicles in the coming months to balance vehicle supply.”

Used-vehicle inventory actually was still tight, the report indicated, down 15.2% year-over-year and 0.5% month-over-month. Consequently, days-on-market fell 4% month-over-month.

Prices for used vehicles reflected the supply realities, though used electric models were among the top six with the biggest price declines. The report said Tesla, Rivian and BMW EV models’ prices had fallen up to 33% since July.

For new models, days-on-market were actually on the rise, up 42.4% year-over-year, though still 33% under pre-COVID levels, thus the continued scarcity of incentives for consumers. Buyer demand for new vehicles rose with the season, up 15.4% month-over-month and nearly 7% year-over-year.

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