Q4 2024 New Car Insights
Read what we learned during Q4 below:
Insight: New vehicle sales were strong in December, up 6.5 percent from the prior month. The results capped a quarter of month-over-month sales increases—a pace that’s roughly the same as a year ago.
According to Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist at Cox Automotive: “The market has strong tailwinds as (2024) comes to a close.”
Looking ahead to Q1: New-vehicle sales are expected to show steady growth over last year’s pace in January.
Insight: The average transaction price (ATP) of a new vehicle in the U.S. in December, reported by Kelley Blue Book, ran $49,740, the second-highest ATP in history. Since 2012, the monthly Kelley Blue Book ATP has been $49,000 or above only five times, peaking at $49,926 in December 2022.
Looking ahead to Q1: Given the cost of producing vehicles in a diverse and complex market like the U.S. shows no sign of easing, 2025 could see more of the same—higher than ever average transaction prices means buyers will be looking at loan rates (which have been decreasing) and incentives to make purchase.
Insight: Days’ supply continued to decline in December after increasing in November, dropping by 14.2% month over month to 75 days, at a level mostly unchanged compared to a year ago.
Insight: Daily holding cost per new car decreased in December.
Action: Ensure your vehicles are priced competitively, and your prices reflect all available incentives to help move inventory faster and minimize the financial drag of floor-plan expenses.
Insight: Dealer profit per new car decreased in December, following a slight increase in November.
Action: Mitigate the market-driven pressure on new vehicle profitability by maintaining a balance between your days supply of model lines and trim configurations and the market days supply of same. Imbalances indicate where you need to move cars and/or supplement your inventory.
Q4 2024 Used Car Insights
Read what we learned during Q4 below:
Insight: Retail used-vehicle sales in December of 1.39 million vehicles reflected a stronger seasonal trend for the month, up 12 percent year over year. December sales were flat compared to November. The average price for the top-five selling units was $24,048.
Insight: Day supply increased throughout Q4. Used vehicle days supply was 48 at the start of January 2025—down from the 50-plus average for of this time of year (it ran nearly 60 days in 2019).
Action: Resist the urge to “stock up” beyond your rolling 30-day total of retail sales as you replenish from December deals and get set for spring. With normalized depreciation, over-stocking can invite more aged, distressed vehicles than you should carry. Note: Used vehicles below $15,000 have the least wholesale availability (a 34 days’ supply, nine days lower than the same time last year and 12 days below the industry average).
Insight: Dealers’ average used-vehicle listing price closed December at $25,574, down 3% from a year earlier. Retail used-vehicle listing prices have been consistently lower through the first 11 months of 2024 compared to year-ago levels. Retail prices rose slightly in December, though the increase was smaller than the same time in 2023 and 2022.
Action: Review your used vehicle pricing daily to ensure each vehicle’s competitive position and price matches your targets.
Insight: Declines in used vehicle values have chipped away at the average used vehicle trade-in equity. It stands near $8,200, a 3 percent decline from a year ago.
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