From Kelley Blue Book:
Transaction prices on new vehicle sales continue to rise, posting a gain of 1.4 percent or an average of $458 in October. The average new vehicle transaction price according to Kelley Blue Book data now stands at $34,023, which also represents a $223 increase over the September figure.
"Transaction prices continue to rise with several segments besting the industry average in terms of growth, including full-size SUVs, high performance cars, midsize trucks and vans," said Akshay Anand, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "From a brand perspective, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Lincoln, Ram and Subaru report superior month-over-month and year-over-year gains. These brands had growth from different segments across their lineups, a promising sign given the increasing popularity of SUVs and trucks."
Overall, General Motors saw a three percent increase in transaction prices. One of the bright spots has been the introduction of the midsize Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks. So far this year, GM has sold 95,000 of those vehicles, exceeding in 10 months some industry projections of what the company would be able to sell in a year. The Colorado and Canyon are also selling with little or no incentives, which will prop up transaction prices.
The only brand to see a drop was Volkswagen, which saw its average transaction drop 3.6 percent from September and 1.8 percent year-over-year. The decline is attributed to the bad publicity from the diesel scandal, increased incentives on the gasoline models and the fact that VW stopped selling its 2.0-liter TDI models, which generally command a premium over gasoline versions.
