On the Dash:
- The average new-vehicle transaction price reached $50,562 in September, just $52 below the December 2025 record, while year-over-year growth held at 0.7%. Dealers should expect modest price growth as buyers keep trading toward lower-priced models.
- Buyers are shifting toward subcompact SUVs, compact cars, and small and midsize pickups. Dealers who stock these segments are positioned for where demand is moving.
- Incentives averaged 6.6% of transaction prices, down from 7.3% a year earlier, and EV transaction prices averaged $55,879, down 3% year over year. Dealers should note that EV incentives fell to 11% of the transaction price, the lowest level of 2026.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the average new-vehicle transaction price rose for a fourth consecutive month in September to $50,562, just $52 below the all-time record of $50,614 set in December 2025.
Even so, prices rose just 0.7% from September 2025, well short of the typical 2% to 4% gain for the month. Prices usually climb in the second half of the year as next-model-year vehicles reach dealerships, but Kelley Blue Book said those arrivals are running well behind historic norms.
Affordability pressures are also steering consumers toward cheaper vehicles. Erin Keating, Executive Analyst at Cox Automotive, said buyers are moving toward lower-priced vehicles and segments, which tempers the industrywide average even as individual vehicle prices rise. Kelley Blue Book pointed to strong sales of subcompact SUVs, compact cars, and small and midsize pickups.
Vehicle prices vary by segment
Prices still climbed in most of the top-selling segments.
- Compact cars posted the largest gain at 3.2%, reaching $27,977
- Midsize SUVs rose 2% to $50,630
- Full-size pickups gained 1.5% to $67,573
- Subcompact SUVs also climbed 1.5% to $31,213
- Compact SUVs were the lone decliner among the five, slipping 0.4% to $37,614.
Incentives averaged 6.6% of transaction prices in September, down from 7.3% a year earlier, though up slightly from 6.5% in August. Buyers received an average of $3,359 in incentives, down 8.8% from a year ago, which means discounts covered a smaller share of vehicle prices than in September 2025.
Similarly, the average EV transaction price reached $55,879 in September, up from a downwardly revised $54,574 in August but 3% below a year earlier as a stronger mix of more affordable models pulled the average down. EVs carried an 11% premium over comparable internal combustion vehicles in September, a gap that held near 11% throughout 2026 and averaged nearly 18% in 2025.
