Kelly Blue Book’s (KBB) estimates for electric vehicles (EV) sales forecast no marginal difference in April from the previous month.
EV transaction prices in April were up roughly 0.1 percent at $55,252, an increase of only $75 from the prior month. Year-over-year, the average transaction price for an EV was down 8.5 percent, thanks in part to price pressure on EVs driven by slowing sales, healthy inventory, and more competition.
Electric vehicle incentive packages remain well above the industry average, in many cases more than 15-to-20 percent of ATP, according to KBB analysis.
Year-Over-Year Price Reduction
Maybe of most significance, the EV market has seen significant year-over-year price reductions in April. Overall, most EVs today are transacting for prices lower than one year ago by approximately 4-to-5 percent.
Some of the most popular offerings had double digit declines—the Ford Lightning with a transaction price down 23 percent; the Ford Mustang Mach-e down 15 percent; and the Hyundai Ioniq 6, down 10 percent.
Tesla Tops Market
As for the dominant force in the sector, Tesla is the highest volume seller in both segments, No. 1 in luxury and No. 1 in EVs despite Model Y sales dropping 12 percent from the month previous.
Volatile Tesla prices— Elon Musk-owned company experienced prices plummeting almost 20 percent from $62,269 in January 2023 to $50,099 in December 2023—have stabilized were higher month over month by 5.7%. But Tesla prices in April were lower year over year by 3.3 percent.
Overall Price Up for April
As for the overall market, new-vehicle average transaction prices (ATP) in April increased month over month for the first time in 2024, rising to $48,510, a 2.2 percent jump from the revised March price of $47,481. But that was not enough to overcome the declines the first three months of this year, as year-over-year prices are lower by 0.5 percent.
Additionally, new-vehicle incentive levels were 6.3 percent of the average transaction price in April, down from 6.6 percent in the prior month. The incentive decline was the first decrease since October 2023, when levels receded to 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent in September.
According to KBB officials, new-vehicle sales volume in April was lower month-over-month driven in part by fewer selling days. But at 15.7 million in April, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales was marginally higher versus March and flat compared to a year ago.
