January Car Sales Shake Off Snow Storm

Strong truck and SUV sales boosted the estimated average transaction price (ATP) for retail light-duty vehicles in the U.S. to $34,112 in January, up by approximately ($919) from prices a year ago resulting in a 2.8% increase.

Notably, new-car prices declined approximately $553 down by 1.6% from December, according to Kelley Blue Book data.

FCA US, GM, and Toyota were the top three performing automobile manufacturers year-over-year, with FCA seeing a 4.5% increase in ATP. GM benefitted from strong truck and SUV sales and their ATP rose to 4.1%. Rounding out the top three, Toyota vehicle ATP was 3.8%.

The top three segments that saw the highest percent change in ATP year-over-year were mid-size pickup trucks (7.9%), full-size SUVs/crossovers (6.3%), and full-size pickup truck (5.9%).

Another factor that may have impacted vehicle transaction prices was the blizzard, Jonas, which affected most of the East Coast.