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Car prices are out of control. With average new-car transaction prices hovering around $50,000, some dealers have resorted to selling salvage-titled cars because many customers can’t afford the other stuff on their lots. But if you thought that the industry has finally realized this isn’t sustainable, think again.
The average marketed price of a new car reached $51,974 as of June 30, breaking a nearly three-year-old record, Automotive News reports. “Average marketed price” is the amount dealers are advertising for a specific vehicle with discounts, so this refers specifically to what dealers are charging, not the pricing set by automakers. The data used by Automotive News come from inventory and pricing information of 133 nameplates from franchised dealers’ websites, accounting for most of the market but not brands like Tesla, Lucid, and Rivian that sell cars directly to customers.
The record was at first surpassed only by a small amount. On June 26 pricing topped the previous record of $51,820 (set on July 7, 2023) by one dollar. It crept up an additional $154 over the next four days. The average on the last day of June was $2,421—or 4.9%—higher than it was the same day a year earlier, and $314 higher than a month earlier.
Asking prices rose in most, but not all, market segments from a year ago, according to Automotive News. Compact sedans saw the biggest increase, with the average marketed price jumping by $2,869—12%—from the end of June 2025. That could be a result of customers looking for cheaper new cars, as well as an indication of the building demand for sedans that has led the Detroit automakers to consider bringing them back.
Five segments saw average price decreases, but most were far from mainstream. Convertibles saw the biggest decrease of 9.8%, followed by minivans at 3.2%. What Automotive News calls “full-size and extra large luxury SUVs” along with “luxury vans” saw price decreases as well, but defining the latter two as market segments splits hairs a bit.
Of the 133 nameplates tracked, 99 saw price increases, although some, like the Nissan Rogue’s 0.2% hike, were minuscule. Five nameplates saw average marketed price increases of more than 10% over a year earlier. The Kia Telluride saw a 16.4% price increase, while average Toyota RAV4 prices rose by 15.7% over the previous year. Both are popular models that were just redesigned, so the price jumps likely reflect high demand. On the other other hand, Hyundai Ioniq 5 prices fell by 17%, while Jeep Wrangler prices were down 4% from a year earlier.
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he’s not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.
