SANTA MONICA, Calif.—TrueCar, Inc. estimates that U.S. new vehicle sales generated $50.9 billion in June, up 7.4 percent from a year ago and the highest ever recorded for the month, propelled by consumers’ continued shift to crossovers and light trucks from midsize sedans.
Stronger average transaction prices last month helped automakers post a $3.5 billion gain in revenue compared with June 2015, amid a projected 8.6 percent increase in incentive spending from a year ago. As previously announced, TrueCar estimates sales of new cars and light trucks expanded by 5.4 percent last month to 1,556,844 units.
“There have been ups and downs in the auto market this year, but consumer demand has kept sales on pace to top 2015’s record 17.5 million units," said Patrick Min, TrueCar’s senior industry insights analyst. “Much of that growth keeps coming from crossover utility vehicle deliveries and there’s no indication that the appeal of compact and midsize models in this category is declining.”
TrueCar estimates the average transaction price (ATP) for a new light vehicle was $32,693 in June, up 1.9 percent from a year ago. Average incentive spending per unit rose by $246 to $3,116. The ratio of incentive spending to ATP was 9.5 percent, up from 8.9 percent a year ago.
“The industry is maintaining a reasonably disciplined approach to incentive spending as the overall pace of sales expansion moderates,” said Oliver Strauss, TrueCar’s chief economist. “Despite turmoil in international equity and currency markets triggered by last week’s Brexit vote in the U.K., the overall health of the U.S. economy, sustained low fuel prices and likelihood that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future should help auto sales remain at or above the current level.”
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June average transaction price |
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Manufacturer |
June 2016 |
June 2015 |
May 2016 |
Change vs. |
Change vs. |
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| FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | $33,349 | $32,535 |
$33,353 |
2.5% | 0.0% | |||||
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | $35,624 | $33,655 | $35,005 | 5.9% | 1.8% | |||||
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | $36,489 | $34,273 | $37,265 | 6.5% | -2.1% | |||||
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | $27,471 | $27,289 | $27,397 | 0.7% | 0.3% | |||||
| Hyundai | $22,832 | $22,777 | $23,137 | 0.2% | -1.3% | |||||
| Kia | $22,972 | $23,999 | $23,389 | -4.3% | -1.8% | |||||
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | $27,589 | $27,739 | $27,380 | -0.5% | 0.8% | |||||
| Subaru | $27,316 | $27,029 | $27,187 | 1.1% | 0.5% | |||||
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | $31,133 | $30,275 | $31,182 | 2.8% | -0.2% | |||||
| Volkswagen (Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen) | $41,386 | $39,594 | $39,482 | 4.5% | 4.8% | |||||
|
Industry |
$32,693 |
$32,082 |
$32,602 |
1.9% |
0.3% |
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TrueCar estimates the average incentive for light vehicles in June will rise by $246, or 8.6 percent, from a year ago, and decrease $29, or 0.9 percent, from May 2016.
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June Incentive Spending |
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Manufacturer |
Incentive per |
Incentive per Unit |
Incentive per Unit |
Total Spending Apr |
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| BMW | $5,235 | 22.0% | -8.6% | $191,066,228 | ||||
| Daimler | $4,499 | 6.9% | -5.0% | $147,560,240 | ||||
| FCA | $4,101 | 20.9% | -0.3% | $836,793,138 | ||||
| Ford | $3,516 | 35.5% | -2.2% |
$824,384,514 |
||||
| GM | $3,991 | 2.1% | -1.6% | $1,042,356,769 | ||||
| Honda | $1,845 | -3.7% | 5.1% | $269,889,322 | ||||
| Hyundai | $2,133 | -14.2% | 1.4% | $152,831,133 | ||||
| Kia | $2,725 | 1.5% | -0.3% | $163,832,771 | ||||
| Nissan | $3,208 | -5.6% | -1.0% | $425,020,652 | ||||
| Subaru | $616 | -19.6% | 1.1% | $31,501,367 | ||||
| Toyota | $2,108 | 5.1% | -3.1% | $466,194,758 | ||||
| Volkswagen Group | $3,585 | 15.7% | -0.6% | $183,102,174 | ||||
| Industry | $3,116 | 8.6% | -0.9% | $4,851,651,268 | ||||
This month’s ratio of incentive to ATP for light vehicles was 9.5 percent, up from 8.9 percent in June 2015 and down from 9.6 percent in May 2016, based on TrueCar analysis. Subaru, Hyundai and Honda show the most improvement in ATP ratio in June versus the year-earlier month.
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June Incentive Spending as a Percentage of ATP |
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|
Manufacturer |
June 2016 |
June 2015 |
May 2016 |
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| BMW (BMW, Mini) | 10.0% | 8.2% | 10.7% | |||
| Daimler (Mercedes-Benz, Smart) | 7.7% | 7.6% | 8.0% | |||
| FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | 12.3% | 10.4% | 12.3% | |||
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | 9.9% | 7.7% | 10.3% | |||
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | 10.9% | 11.4% | 10.9% | |||
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | 6.7% | 7.0% | 6.4% | |||
| Hyundai | 9.3% | 10.9% | 9.1% | |||
| Kia | 11.9% | 11.2% | 11.7% | |||
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | 11.6% | 12.3% | 11.8% | |||
| Subaru | 2.3% | 2.8% | 2.2% | |||
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | 6.8% | 6.6% | 7.0% | |||
| Volkswagen (Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen) | 8.7% | 7.8% | 9.1% | |||
|
Industry |
9.5% |
8.9% |
9.6% |
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