Car prices in the USA in 2021
Let us remind you that back then, the analytical company Cox Automotive calculated that over the year, used cars in the USA became 30% more expensive. As an example, experts cited the Kia Soul. As of April, this car was sold in dealerships without mileage (2021 model year) at a price of $17,724, while a used counterpart (in the same XL trim) of 2020 model year with 8,000 km on the odometer went to a new owner at the Manheim Auctions auction for $18,500 (plus another $1,500-2,000 was paid for the auction fee, delivery, and other expenses).
Now, the 30% increase in used car prices is confirmed by analysts from another firm – Black Book, writes Autoblog. They also explain the current situation by the global pandemic and the shortage of computer chips, which led to production disruptions and a deficit of new cars. Because of this, many Americans who planned to buy a car from a dealership headed to the secondary market for the coveted "iron horse".
"These problems have created a crazy situation – those cars that are in high demand now cost more on the secondary market than when they were new," said Alexey Yurchenko, senior vice president of data analysis at Black Book.
Here is another real example: the 2019 Toyota Tacoma SR pickup was sold new (actually, two years ago) for $29,000. Now, such a car with mileage is sold for more than 33 thousand. By the way, the Tacoma SR is one of the popular budget options – it is the cheapest version of the popular compact Toyota pickup.
Car market in the USA
Black Book monitored the market and found that 73 car models aged from 1 to 3 years are sold at auctions (where dealers buy cars for their lots) at prices that exceed the manufacturer's suggested retail prices.
According to the results of April sales, the increase in used car prices was a record 10%. In May, it also continued – over the past month, the cost of "used cars" increased by another 7.3%. Moreover, both expensive and budget models became more expensive.
However, not everything is so bad – last week there were signs that the price growth is beginning to slow down: then used cars in the USA became more expensive by only 0.75% – this is the lowest increase in the last 17 weeks. At the same time, the most popular segment – SUVs and pickups – jumped in price by 0.68%, which is also a record low growth over the last 15 weeks.
