August Auto Sales Poised to Reach $50 Billion
Average transaction prices likely to rise 0.4 percent
SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–TrueCar,
Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE)
projects U.S. revenue from new vehicle sales reached $50 billion for the
month of August, down 1.7 percent from a year ago.
Despite higher average transaction prices, automakers should post an
$866 million loss in revenue compared to last year.
Honda Motor Co. continues to lead the industry in lowering their
incentive to average transaction price ratio. The ratio dropped to 6.7
percent in August, down from 7.8 percent a year earlier. This decline
was driven by Honda’s move to pull back on incentive spending. The
August incentive spend was likely down by 17.4 percent compared to last
year.
“Honda’s disciplined approach to incentive spending is primarily driven
by the success of two all new products, the Pilot in the red hot Midsize
Utility segment and the Civic, which is defying sales declines in the
Compact car segment,” said Eric Lyman, TrueCar’s chief industry analyst.
While Honda shows positive signs on incentive spend, overall consumer
demand continues to soften for car based automakers with lower than
average transaction prices compared to trucks and utilities.
“Automakers that are traditionally associated with strong truck and
utility portfolios attained the biggest growth in average transaction
price year over year, especially those with full-size pickups who show
the most consistent gains,” Lyman said.
TrueCar estimates the average transaction price (ATP) for a new light
vehicle was $32,339 in August, up 0.4 percent from a year ago. Average
incentive spending per unit rose by $237 to $3,331. The ratio of
incentive spending to ATP was 10.3 percent, up from 9.6 percent a year
ago.
“Trucks continue to carry the weight for the industry,” said Patrick
Min, TrueCar’s senior industry insights analyst. “Increasing transaction
prices driven by richer mix of trucks and utilities is helping to
mitigate the loss in revenue.”
|
Average Transaction Price (ATP) |
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|
Percent |
Percent |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aug. 2016 |
Change vs. |
Change vs. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Forecast | Aug. 2015 | Jul. 2016 | Aug. 2015 |
Jul. 2016 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| BMW (BMW, Mini) | $ | 49,135 | $ | 48,908 | $ | 49,541 | 0.5 | % | -0.8 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Daimler (Mercedes-Benz, Smart) | $ | 60,064 | $ | 57,480 | $ | 59,068 | 4.5 | % | 1.7 | % | |||||||||||||||
| FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | $ | 33,042 | $ | 32,980 | $ | 33,141 | 0.2 | % | -0.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | $ | 36,558 | $ | 34,870 | $ | 36,391 | 4.8 | % | 0.5 | % | |||||||||||||||
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | $ | 36,788 | $ | 35,459 | $ | 35,266 | 3.7 | % | 4.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | $ | 26,330 | $ | 27,193 | $ | 26,844 | -3.2 | % | -1.9 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Hyundai | $ | 22,858 | $ | 23,664 | $ | 23,175 | -3.4 | % | -1.4 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Kia | $ | 21,963 | $ | 23,183 | $ | 22,098 | -5.3 | % | -0.6 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | $ | 27,465 | $ | 27,111 | $ | 27,396 | 1.3 | % | 0.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Subaru | $ | 25,033 | $ | 26,855 | $ | 26,398 | -6.8 | % | -5.2 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | $ | 31,318 | $ | 30,449 | $ | 31,106 | 2.9 | % | 0.7 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Volkswagen (Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen) | $ | 38,959 | $ | 39,220 | $ | 38,164 | -0.7 | % | 2.1 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Industry | $ | 32,339 | $ | 32,222 | $ | 32,226 | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % | |||||||||||||||
|
Incentive per Unit Spending |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percent | Percent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aug. 2016 | Change vs. | Change vs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Forecast | Aug. 2015 | Jul. 2016 | Aug. 2015 | Jul. 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| BMW (BMW, Mini) | $ | 5,670 | $ | 4,496 | $ | 5,831 | 26.1 | % | -2.8 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Daimler (Mercedes-Benz, Smart) | $ | 4,528 | $ | 4,601 | $ | 4,685 | -1.6 | % | -3.4 | % | |||||||||||||||
| FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | $ | 4,146 | $ | 3,587 | $ | 4,168 | 15.6 | % | -0.5 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | $ | 4,084 | $ | 3,470 | $ | 4,144 | 17.7 | % | -1.4 | % | |||||||||||||||
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | $ | 4,355 | $ | 4,036 | $ | 4,564 | 7.9 | % | -4.6 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | $ | 1,751 | $ | 2,119 | $ | 1,670 | -17.4 | % | 4.9 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Hyundai | $ | 2,595 | $ | 2,539 | $ | 2,570 | 2.2 | % | 1.0 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Kia | $ | 2,714 | $ | 2,913 | $ | 2,718 | -6.8 | % | -0.1 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | $ | 3,475 | $ | 3,437 | $ | 3,613 | 1.1 | % | -3.8 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Subaru | $ | 717 | $ | 605 | $ | 667 | 18.5 | % | 7.5 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | $ | 2,370 | $ | 2,208 | $ | 2,416 | 7.3 | % | -1.9 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Volkswagen (Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen) | $ | 3,793 | $ | 3,061 | $ | 3,882 | 23.9 | % | -2.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Industry | $ | 3,331 | $ | 3,094 | $ | 3,404 | 7.7 | % | -2.2 | % | |||||||||||||||
|
Incentive Spending as a Percentage of ATP |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percent | Percent | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aug. 2016 | Change vs. | Change vs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Forecast | Aug. 2015 | Jul. 2016 | Aug. 2015 | Jul. 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||
| BMW (BMW, Mini) | 11.5 | % | 9.2 | % | 11.8 | % | 25.5 | % | -2.0 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Daimler (Mercedes-Benz, Smart) | 7.5 | % | 8.0 | % | 7.9 | % | -5.8 | % | -5.0 | % | ||||||||||||||
| FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat) | 12.5 | % | 10.9 | % | 12.6 | % | 15.3 | % | -0.2 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln) | 11.2 | % | 10.0 | % | 11.4 | % | 12.3 | % | -1.9 | % | ||||||||||||||
| GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC) | 11.8 | % | 11.4 | % | 12.9 | % | 4.0 | % | -8.5 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | 6.7 | % | 7.8 | % | 6.2 | % | -14.7 | % | 6.9 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Hyundai | 11.4 | % | 10.7 | % | 11.1 | % | 5.8 | % | 2.4 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Kia | 12.4 | % | 12.6 | % | 12.3 | % | -1.6 | % | 0.5 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Nissan (Nissan, Infiniti) | 12.7 | % | 12.7 | % | 13.2 | % | -0.2 | % | -4.1 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Subaru | 2.9 | % | 2.3 | % | 2.5 | % | 27.2 | % | 13.4 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | 7.6 | % | 7.3 | % | 7.8 | % | 4.4 | % | -2.6 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Volkswagen (Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen) | 9.7 | % | 7.8 | % | 10.2 | % | 24.7 | % | -4.3 | % | ||||||||||||||
| Industry | 10.3 | % | 9.6 | % | 10.6 | % | 7.3 | % | -2.5 | % | ||||||||||||||
About TrueCar
TrueCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE) is a digital automotive marketplace that
provides comprehensive pricing transparency about what other people paid
for their cars and enables consumers to engage with TrueCar Certified
Dealers who are committed to providing a superior purchase experience.
TrueCar operates its own branded site and its nationwide network of more
than 11,000 Certified Dealers also powers car-buying programs for some
of the largest U.S. membership and service organizations, including
USAA, AARP, American Express, AAA and Sam’s Club. Over one third of all
new car buyers engage with the TrueCar network during their purchasing
process. TrueCar is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with
offices in San Francisco and Austin, Texas. For more information, go to www.truecar.com.
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