New-vehicle prices show no signs of retreating, as robust consumer demand and razor-thin dealer inventories continue to upend the industry. Time was when an astute haggler could strike a transaction price several hundreds of dollars below a new-car’s MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price), but those days are long gone, with dealer markups now being the norm.
Automotive news reports that “unrelenting” microchip shortages kept another 96,700 vehicles out of production industry-wide last month. As an example, Ford says it has as many as 45,000 unfinished pickup trucks (their most profitable models) in inventory that won’t be completed by the end of September because of component scarcity.
As we all learned in Economics 101, the law of supply and demand dictates that when the former is low and the latter is more robust than can be fulfilled, prices go up. And with some new vehicles, that’s way up.
According to an analysis of 1.9 million recent new-vehicle transactions conducted by the online vehicle marketplace iSeeCars.com, the average new vehicle is selling for 10 percent above MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price), with some of the newest and/or most popular models, including the new-for-2022 Ford Maverick compact pickup, exceeding that amount.
“Dealers have responded to market conditions by pricing cars above MSRP making a higher profit on specific models to help offset lower sales volumes from restricted new car production,” says iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “In today’s market, consumers are willing to pay well-above sticker price for new cars because inventory is so scarce and because they know that new car pricing is not expected to improve until 2023 at the earliest.”
Prepare to dig deep into your bank account if you’re in the market for a new Jeep Wrangler, which the website reports is currently going, on average, for 24.4 percent more than its sticker price. That percentage currently beats all comers and amounts to an average markup of $8,433. Among the models that are selling for the biggest dollar amounts over MSRP are two Porsche SUVs, the Macan at $14,221, and the Cayenne at $16,750 and the venerable Chevrolet Corvette sports car with dealers pocketing an extra $14,697 profit per unit.
Here are the 15 new vehicles iSeeCars.com says are commanding the biggest markups above their list prices, with average percentages and dollar amounts noted:
- Jeep Wrangler: +24.4% ($8,433)
- Porsche Macan: +23.1% ($14,221)
- Genesis GV70: +22.4% ($10,278)
- Lexus RX 450h: +21.9% ($10,847)
- Ford Bronco: +21.6% ($8,697)
- Jeep Wrangler Unlimited: +20.0% ($8,877)
- Cadillac CT5: +19.9% ($8,335)
- Porsche Cayenne: +19.6% ($16,750)
- Chevrolet Corvette: +19.5% ($14,697)
- Mercedes-Benz GLB: +19.0% ($7,650)
- MINI Hardtop 2 Door: +18.8% ($5,426)
- Lexus RX 350L: +18.8% ($9,423)
- Jeep Gladiator: +18.5% ($8,478)
- Ford Maverick: +18.4% ($4,614)
- Genesis GV80: +18.0% ($10,124)
You can read the full report here.