Auto Affordability in Context
Automotive consumers aren’t delusional; car prices have gotten higher in recent years. But the real culprit is overall inflation, a Cox Automotive analyst says.
Using as an example the Honda CR-V, Executive Analyst Erin Keating says the popular compact crossover SUV went for an average transaction price of $28,000 10 years ago and now sells for approximately $39,000.
But adjusted for inflation, she says the 33% increase is almost a wash. Plus, the CR-V now comes with many more desirable features than its 2016 version, including driver-assistance technology and wireless smartphone integration, some of the things many consumers have come to expect.
Consumers have been facing rising prices everywhere they turn, including car maintenance and repair costs, auto insurance premium hikes and higher gas prices, and that’s just for their vehicles, let alone almost every other product and service category as costs rise faster than incomes for many.
In addition, when consumers choose vehicles above brand lines’ base models when the price difference is relatively narrow, those choices gradually change the mix of vehicles automakers offer and “lift the industry average,” Keating pointed out.
Referring to ATPs hovering around $50,000 for a good while now, Keating said,“The headline number moves, but the underlying story is consumer choice … “The car is not the villain here.”
Keating didn’t mention pickup trucks in her analysis, but automakers gradually pumped up trucks’ size in recent years for the higher prices they bring, yet another wrinkle in the auto inflation story. The annual ATP gain for trucks in May was 2%, twice the industry average, to $66,288.