HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The average price of a new car was $49,353 in the month of February, according to a report by Kelley Blue Book.
The price of a new car is 3.4% higher than at the same time last year, according to the report.
The average manufacturer’s suggested retail price, also known as MSRP, was $51,440 in February, according to Kelley Blue Book.
For some drivers, affordability concerns include keeping an eye on the average price of a used car.
The average price of a used car was $26,043 in December, according to Kelley Blue Book.
“If the average wage isn’t going up and the average car price has gone up, that makes it harder for young people to kind of keep up with what’s going on,” Blair Turner said.
Economists and car market experts are delving into the factors driving prices higher.
“I think if you look at government policies, other factors, like higher interest rates, it’s quite predictable,” David Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said.
“Increasing costs for parts and raw materials due to new tariffs in the last year, but in most of the country, the cost of natural gas and electricity, which are used heavily in an automobile assembly factory, have also gone up, and in some cases by a very substantial amount,” Gantz said.
It remains to be seen if the average price of new and used cars will continue to rise.
“I don’t see prices coming down. I think they will continue to go up,” Gantz said.
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