Ford Average Transaction Price Drops Slightly In May 2024

June 12, 2024 11:09 am

Though most expected new car pricing to drop by a relatively large margin in 2024, thus far, that hasn’t necessarily been the case. In fact, Ford average transaction pricing has experienced quite a few ups and downs through the first few months of the year, decreasing by two percent in January, staying flat in February, and increasing yet again in March before growing by a substantial 5.8 percent in April. That trend did once again tilt downward in May, however.

According to new data from Cox Automotive, Ford average transaction pricing – for that brand only, not including Lincoln – declined by 0.7 percent from April to May, from $56,561 to $56,184. That figure is also a slight 0.2 percent lower than May 2023, when Ford average transaction pricing closed out the month at $56,278. As for the overall market, May’s ATP came in at $48,389, which is essentially flat versus April 2024’s figure of $48,368 and 0.9 percent less than May 2023’s $48,830.

Regardless, this marks eight consecutive months that new vehicle ATP has declined, a trend that’s largely driven by increasing inventory and higher incentive spending. The average new-vehicle incentive in May came in at 6.7 percent of the average transaction price, which is the highest level since May 2021 and far higher than the 4.0 percent they accounted for one year ago. Meanwhile, new vehicle inventory kicked off the month at 2.84 million units, which is 51 percent more than May 2023 and the highest since late 2020, all of which helped boost sales as well.

“In May, we saw some positive news on the sales front,” said Erin Keating, executive analyst for Cox Automotive. “A lot of those sales gains were juiced by higher incentives and lower prices, which is good news for consumers worrying about inflation. While there are a lot of vehicles transacting at very high prices, that doesn’t mean all new vehicles are unaffordable. There are still plenty of excellent, well-priced vehicles out there, particularly in the compact segments.”

We’ll have more on Ford average transaction pricing soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for non-stop Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.