Average New-Vehicle Prices Continue to Climb, up 2.2% Year Over Year for April 2021

Volkswagen strength driven by best-selling models; Tesla falls on price declines for its most expensive vehicles.

May 18, 2021

Average New-Vehicle Prices Continue to Climb, up 2.2% Year Over Year for April 2021 — **Volkswagen strength driven by best-selling models; Tesla falls on price declines for its most expensive vehicles.**

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IRVINE, Calif. – The estimated average transaction price for a light vehicle in the United States was $40,768 in April 2021, according to the analysts at Kelley Blue Book. New-vehicle prices increased $864 (up 2.2%) from April 2020, while increasing $92 (up 0.23%) from March 2021.

Many manufacturers reported year-over-year growth in average transaction prices with Volkswagen Group seeing the largest increase year over year (up 9%), while Tesla had the greatest decrease from last year, down 10.3%.

“Comparing the market to this time last year when COVID-19 brought the industry to a halt, highlights an increase in demand, sales, and vehicle prices all have contributed to continually rising transaction prices,” said Kayla Reynolds, industry intelligence analyst at Cox Automotive. “Many manufacturers reported year-over-year growth in average transaction prices with Volkswagen Group seeing the largest increase year over year (up 9%), while Tesla had the greatest decrease from last year, down 10.3%.”

The strength of the Volkswagen brand, up 6.8%, was driven by its two best-selling models, the Atlas and Tiguan, both increasing approximately $3,000 on average since last year. Audi, up 6.7%, reported a 30% year-over-year increase in the average transaction price of its second-highest-priced model, the A7, which also increased in sales from April 2020.

While Volkswagen’s transaction prices rose last month, the story was different for Tesla. The Model X and Model Y, the brand’s two most expensive vehicles, dropped 9% in average transaction prices from last year.

At the segment level, luxury full-size SUVs and crossovers had the largest year-over-year growth (up 14.4%). Luxury full-size utility vehicles posted the second-highest average transaction prices at $98,017, just behind high-end luxury cars. All models in the luxury full-size utility segment experienced an increase, including the Cadillac Escalade, Lincoln Navigator, Lexus LX, Land Rover Range Rover and more. More than half of the vehicles in this segment also experienced large gains in sales year over year.

Electric vehicle prices dropped 10.8% year over year, driven mostly by the drop in Tesla transaction prices. The electric vehicle segment average decline, down more than $6,000, was due to the introduction of more reasonably priced electric vehicles recently hitting the market, including the Volkswagen ID.4 and Mustang Mach-E.