Midweek News Roundup From Cox Motorsports

AUTOMAKERS SUPPORT SALES WITH LOW-RATE FINANCING OFFERS

In the Auto Market Report published this morning, automakers are providing more financing offers of zero and below 3% to incentivize new-vehicle sales, according to Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke.
 
Smoke noted, “With the strikes over, financing offers are growing again to help mitigate the impact of higher rates on affordability.”
 
Income growth favored consumers enough in October to offset the impact of higher prices, lower incentives, and higher auto loan rates. New-vehicle affordability improved slightly month over month and year over year, according to the Cox Automotive/Moody’s Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index.
 
Read the Auto Market Weekly Summary and watch the Auto Market Report video for more data and insights from Smoke on new and used retail sales and inventory, auto financing, and Cox Automotive leading indicators.

AVERAGE NEW-VEHICLE PRICES DOWN YEAR OVER YEAR IN OCTOBER, AS HEALTHY INVENTORIES HELP BUYERS

In October, the average transaction price for a new vehicle in the U.S. experienced a year-over-year decline, which happened for only the second time in the last decade. According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price paid for a new vehicle in the U.S. was $47,936 in October. Although the UAW strike was underway during that period, new-vehicle inventories were on the rise. Compared to last year when incentives were near historic lows, October’s average new-vehicle transaction prices were approximately $670 lower, down 1.4%. This year, new-vehicle transaction prices have fallen more than 3.5%, which means that buyers in the market continue to benefit from downward price pressure.
 
Read the Data Point for the latest on average prices and average incentive spend as a percent of ATP for non-luxury, luxury and electric vehicles.

BOTH NEW AND USED INVENTORY ROSE, LISTING PRICES FELL

New- and used-vehicle inventory rose in November while prices fell, according to Cox Automotive’s analysis of vAuto Available Inventory data.
 
New-vehicle inventory was up month over month and year over year, at 2.40 million units, with an average listing price of $47,251, down month over month and 1.5% below a year ago.
 
Used-vehicle inventory was up month over month, at 2.30 million units, but down 4% year over year, with an average listing price of $26,533, down month over month and down 3% compared to the same period in 2022.
  
For more details, check out the latest reports on inventory and pricing for new and used vehicles.

WHOLESALE USED-VEHICLE PRICES DECREASE IN FIRST HALF OF NOVEMBER

Wholesale used-vehicle prices decreased 1.6% during the first 15 days of November compared to October. The midmonth Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index dropped to 206.1, which was a 5.3% decrease from the full month of November 2022. The seasonal adjustment, however, reduced the decrease. In the first half of November, the non-adjusted price decreased by 2.3% compared to October, while the unadjusted price dropped by 6.9% year over year.
 
“We’ve seen more normal trends in our wholesale markets this year, and at the same time, there has been some volatility as to the strength of those trends,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive, in the latest Manheim Market Insights video. “We are also seeing some balancing forces at play as well.”

Watch the video published this morning for insights on big-picture metrics in the used-vehicle market.

COX AUTOMOTIVE STUDY FINDS DIGITAL RETAILING TOOLS SAVE TIME IN CAR BUYING, IMPROVE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Nearly all car dealers currently using digital retailing tools claim it has positively impacted their business, especially in customer experience and satisfaction, according to Cox Automotive’s 2023 Digitization of Car Buying Study published last week. Capturing data from shoppers, buyers, and franchised dealers, Cox Automotive’s latest research on the state of digital retailing underscores how commonplace it is and the improvements it has added to the overall buying and selling experience.
 
Find out the study takeaways and download the study for additional insights.