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Average new car prices near $50,000 as rate of increase accelerates

By
Published  April 12, 2026 2:44pm MST
Consumer
FOX Local
article

Full-size trucks for sale are parked at a CarMax dealership on November 11, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

The Brief

    • The average price of a new vehicle in March rose to $49,275, a 3.5% year-to-year increase, KBB reported.
    • The rate of year-to-year increases has been rising in recent months.
    • The average price of a new car has only eclipsed $50,000 twice, in September and December of last year.

As anyone looking to buy a vehicle knows, purchasing a new car, truck, or SUV is getting more and more expensive, and a new report shows that the rate that prices are increasing is starting to speed up.

Big picture view:

A new car buyer shelled out $49,275, on average, last month, Kelley Blue Book (KBB) reported. New vehicle prices can fluctuate throughout the year, and that is actually down from December, when prices topped $50,000. However, the year-to-year comparisons since then show a different story.

From December 2024 to December 2025, the gap between the prices shoppers were paying was just half of a percentage point, KBB data showed. When the calendar flipped to January, that year-to-year difference grew to 1.9% before rising to 3.4% in February. Come March, car buyers were paying 3.5% more than they were in March 2025.

RELATED: Consumer sentiment plummets as inflation fears surge

By the numbers:

The report broke down the five best-selling segments and their average transaction price, and found three of them were below the overall average. Full-size pickup trucks, meanwhile, were far higher.

  1. Midsize SUV: $49,853, up 2.8% year over year
  2. Compact SUV: $37,085, up 2.1% year over year
  3. Full-size pickup truck: $65,964, up 2.8% year over year
  4. Subcompact SUV: $30,612, up 2.2% year over year
  5. Compact car: $27,469, up 1.1% year over year

Fuel-efficient vehicle sales

Soaring prices at the pump appear to have had little impact on car shoppers’ decision-making. KBB found little increased interest from buyers last month. As Erin Keating, an executive analyst with KBB’s parent company Cox Automotive, noted that they were still wanting larger vehicles.

What they're saying:

"The sales numbers remind us again that buying behavior does not change quickly, and that most Americans have ridden the gas-price rollercoaster before," she said. "They know where the ride ends. And even this week, prices retreated significantly on hopes of a holding peace in the Middle East."

RELATED: Where gas prices are the highest: A state-by-state breakdown of the average price of gas

The other side:

One segment where prices fell was electric vehicles. KBB found their average price in March slid 2.8% year-over-year, the third straight month of declines. However, with an average price of $54,508, they are still notably higher than the overall figure.

Between December 2024 and December 2025, prices only went up by a half-percentage point. Then, in January, the year-to-year increase rose to 1.9% before jumping to 3.4% in February. Come March 2026, the difference was 3.5% when compared to March 2025.

The Source: Information for this article was taken from Kelley Blue Book. This story was reported from Orlando.

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