Following years of skyrocketing new vehicle prices spurred on by a lack of inventory caused by supply chain issues, shoppers haven’t gotten much relief in that regard – even as inventory levels remain quite high. For the most part, Ford average transaction pricing (for the brand, not including Lincoln) has held the proverbial line for more than a year now, in fact, though it did decrease a bit in February versus January. That slight downward trend continued in March as well, as Ford average transaction pricing cooled off ever so slightly last month, too.
According to new data from Cox Automotive, Ford average transaction pricing declined from $54,087 in February to $53,414 in March, a decrease of 1.2 percent, month-over-month. That figure was still 0.7 percent higher than March 2024, however, when Ford’s ATP was $53,066. It did manage to outpace the overall market at least, which posted a decrease of just 0.2 percent in ATP from $47,577 in February to $47,462 in March, which was 0.3 percent higher than March 2024’s figure of $47,342. As for incentives, they were flat compared to February at 7.0 percent of ATP, but also 5.0 percent higher than year ago.
The fact that new vehicle average transaction pricing remains stubborn can be attributed to a couple of factors, according to Cox Automotive. For starters, new vehicle sales in March topped 1.59 million units, which is the best sales volume month in nearly four years and 30 percent higher than February – something one can attribute to people rushing to buy cars before tariffs take effect and potentially raise prices.
“All signs point to higher prices this summer, as existing ‘pre-tariff’ inventory is sold down to be eventually replaced with ‘tariffed’ inventory,” said Erin Keating, Executive Analyst, Cox Automotive. “How high prices rise for consumers is still very much to be determined, as each automaker will handle the price puzzle differently. Should the White House posture hold, our team is expecting new vehicles directly impacted by the 25 percent tariff to see price increases in the range of 10-15 percent. In addition, considering the market dynamics, we also anticipate seeing at least a five percent increase in prices of vehicles not subjected to the full 25 percent tariff. There is no way around it: Tariffs are going to push new-vehicle prices higher in the U.S.”
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