An indication advertises to buy automobiles at a used automobile dealership in Arlington, Virginia, February 15, 2022.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Pictures
DETROIT – If traders are in search of indicators of a recession or weakening shopper spending, they’ll skip over new car costs, which hit a brand new report in June.
Fueled by pent-up shopper demand, low car inventories and rising gross sales of luxurious autos, Cox Automotive reported this week the common transaction worth of a brand new car final month was $48,083 – a 1.9% improve from Could and better than the earlier report of $47,202 set in December.
The typical sale worth was a part of a broader improve in shopper spending in June, in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The patron worth index, a measure of on a regular basis items and providers, soared 9.1% from a yr in the past, above the 8.8% Dow Jones estimate.
A lot of the inflation rise got here from gasoline costs, which elevated 11.2% on the month and simply shy of 60% for the 12-month interval. New and used car costs posted respective month-to-month good points of 0.7% and 1.6%, in accordance with the BLS.
Cox stated June continued this yr’s streak of shoppers paying greater than the producer’s urged retail worth, or “sticker worth,” for a brand new car, in accordance with Cox. The automotive analysis agency reported new autos from Honda Motor, Kia and Mercedes-Benz transacted on common between 6.5% and eight.7% over MSRP.
–Jeff Cox contributed to this report.