SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar.com, the authority on car pricing, trends and forecasts, estimated that the average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $30,512 in January 2012, up $1,731 (6.0 percent) from January 2011 and down $174 (0.6 percent) from December 2011.
“Transaction prices declined in January due to seasonality, attributed to a higher percentage of sales of SUVs and luxury vehicles the previous month,” said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry Trends and Insights for TrueCar.com. “The consumer trend of valuing highly-equipped vehicles continued this month, generating higher transaction prices.”
| Transaction Pricing Forecast | |||||
| Manufacturer | January 2012 Transaction Price |
December 2011 Transaction Price |
January 2011 Transaction Price |
Percent Change January 2011 to January 2012 |
Percent Change December 2011 to January 2012 |
| Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | $29,177 | $29,322 | $27,849 | 4.8% | -0.5% |
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | $31,769 | $31,912 | $30,538 | 4.0% | -0.4% |
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | $32,971 | $33,241 | $30,867 | 6.8% | -0.8% |
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | $26,022 | $26,086 | $25,215 | 3.2% | -0.2% |
| Hyundai/Kia | $21,339 | $21,426 | $19,646 | 8.6% | -0.4% |
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | $28,014 | $28,298 | $26,411 | 6.1% | -1.0% |
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | $27,258 | $27,349 | $26,117 | 4.4% | -0.3% |
| Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen) | $33,096 | $33,218 | $32,046 | 3.3% | -0.4% |
| Industry | $30,512 | $30,686 | $28,781 | 6.0% | -0.6% |
In addition, TrueCar.com estimated that the average incentive for light-vehicles was $2,592 in January 2012, up $13 (0.5 percent) from January 2011 and down $109 (4.0 percent) from December 2011.
| Average Incentives Forecast | |||||
| Manufacturer | January 2012 Incentives |
December 2011 Incentives |
January 2011 Incentives |
Percent Change January 2011 to January 2012 |
Percent Change December 2011 to January 2012 |
| Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | $3,233 | $3,257 | $3,414 | -5.3% | -0.7% |
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | $2,940 | $3,022 | $2,407 | 22.2% | -2.7% |
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | $3,095 | $3,186 | $3,663 | -15.5% | -2.8% |
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | $2,258 | $2,378 | $2,016 | 12.0% | -5.0% |
| Hyundai/Kia | $1,027 | $972 | $1,375 | -25.3% | 5.7% |
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | $2,922 | $3,082 | $2,510 | 16.4% | -5.2% |
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | $1,921 | $2,000 | $1,962 | -2.1% | -3.9% |
| Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen) | $2,484 | $2,561 | $2,091 | 18.8% | -3.0% |
| Industry | $2,592 | $2,701 | $2,579 | 0.5% | -4.0% |
TrueCar.com estimated that the ratio of incentives to average transaction price for light-vehicles was 8.5 percent in January 2012, down from 8.8 percent in January 2011 and down from 9.0 percent in December 2011.
| Ratio of Incentives to Average Transaction Price | |||||
| Manufacturer | January 2012 Incentives/Avg. Transaction Price |
December 2011 Incentives/Avg. Transaction Price |
January 2011 Incentives/ Avg. Transaction Price |
Percent Change January 2011 to January 2012 |
Percent Change December 2011 to January 2012 |
| Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | 11.1% | 11.1% | 12.3% | -1.2% | 0.0% |
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | 9.3% | 9.5% | 7.9% | 1.4% | -0.2% |
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | 9.4% | 9.6% | 11.9% | -2.5% | -0.2% |
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | 8.7% | 9.1% | 8.0% | 0.7% | -0.4% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 4.8% | 4.5% | 7.0% | -2.2% | 0.3% |
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | 10.4% | 10.9% | 9.5% | 0.9% | -0.5% |
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | 7.0% | 7.3% | 7.5% | -0.5% | -0.3% |
| Volkswagen (Audi, Volkswagen) | 7.5% | 7.7% | 6.5% | 1.0% | -0.2% |
| Industry | 8.5% | 8.8% | 9.0% | -0.5% | -0.3% |
For additional data on incentives and transaction prices, please visit the TrueCar Truth Blog.
TrueCar, Inc. is an automotive solutions provider focused on changing how cars are sold by providing a significantly better customer experience while helping qualified dealer partners gain incremental market share and reduce costs. TrueCar is a visual publisher of new car transaction data. TrueCar price reports help both dealers and consumers agree on the parameters of a fair deal by providing an accurate, comprehensive and simple understanding of what others actually paid recently for an identically-equipped vehicle both locally and nationally. TrueCar works with a national network of dealers that provides a no-hassle car buying experience, and in many cases a highly competitive upfront price, to assist some of the nation’s largest and most well respected membership and service organizations to meet the auto buying needs of their members and customers. TrueCar is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA and has offices in San Francisco, CA and Austin, TX. With 131 percent annual growth since 2006, TrueCar has connected hundreds of thousands of consumers with dealers nationwide resulting in the sale of over 400,000 vehicles and is developing a suite of products and services centered on radical clarity through the comprehensive analysis of market data and information.
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