Car-Buying Frenzy Ahead of Tariffs Continues, Pushing New Vehicle Prices Higher
As car buyers rush to get in front of tariffs — which are widely expected to boost sticker prices — the flood of demand has been pushing new vehicle prices ever higher, with the trend unlikely to stop any time soon, experts said.
In Cox Automotive’s Auto Market Report published May 13, Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke said the trend of rising prices continues into May.
“May so far looks like a continuation of April, with urgency to buy diminishing, but the retail vehicle market and the U.S. economy both holding up relatively well,” Smoke said.
The job market is “good enough so far,” but hiring is slowing, Smoke said, noting that borrowing money to buy a car is getting more expensive. He said the number of low-interest rate deals has decreased by 7 percentage points year-over-year, with interest-free loans also declining.
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