New-car transaction prices continue to rise, up more than 2% in June

(July 1, 2015) IRVINE, Calif. — The analysts at Kelley Blue Book kbb.com today report the estimated average transaction price (ATP) for light vehicles in the United States was $33,340 in June.  New-car prices have increased by $821 (up 2.5 percent) from June 2014, while increasing $209 (up 0.6 percent) from last month. 

"Ford showed the strongest ATP gains last month, driven largely by its all-new F-150 and a transaction price 6.6 percent higher than the previous generation F-150 last year," said Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. 

"The all-new Edge and Mustang, along with updated versions of the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, also contributed to Ford's pricing gains.  The automaker may be struggling to grow volume and market share, but from a profitability standpoint Ford is doing quite well."

Nissan North America's transaction prices rose nearly as much as Ford in June, with a 4.5 percent gain across both the Nissan and Infiniti brands.  But unlike Ford, Nissan's gains are more balanced between the truck and car segments.  The all-new Murano crossover saw prices rise more than 10 percent from a year ago, while the compact Rogue's ATP was up 6.6 percent. On the car side, Nissan's Altima and Sentra grew transaction prices by 4.9 and 5.4 percent, respectively, even as they maintained strong sales in June. 

Volkswagen Group was the only automaker to see average transaction prices fall in June, with the high-volume Jetta and Passat down 5.8 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.  The Audi and Porsche luxury brands' ATPs were up compared to last June, but they couldn't overcome the Volkswagen brand's drop, resulting in the automaker's average across all brands to fall 1.2 percent last month.