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A handful of vehicles will be discontinued after the 2024 model year as automakers adjust their portfolios to better serve SUV- and truck-loving American buyers. “You do see SUVs here, but by and large, these are cars,” Cameron Rogers, news manager at automotive research site Edmunds, told USA TODAY. Rogers’ tip for fans of the vehicles on the chopping block: buy while you still can. Decent deals might be available since they are often automakers’ older, less popular models. “If you like this car, go get it now, because you're not going to get another chance,” he said.
Which cars won't make it to 2025? Roundup of discontinued models
Hybrid sales are finally slowing after a springtime surge, according to the auto data firm Edmunds, which means better prices are also likely to be around the corner. And in the secondhand market, one- and two-year-old used car values are down nearly $4,000 from last year. “If you’re shopping for a new car deal, it might actually be on the other side of the lot,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds.
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In June 2024, 68% of all new EV transactions were lease deals, compared with 22% industrywide for any powertrain type, including EVs, according to Edmunds.com. Going outside of EVs, some other auto lease deals — which might require a decent down payment — could be found for as low as $299 a month or less in July, according to Edmunds.com research. For example, a lease deal on a 2024 Buick Envista popped up at $239 a month for 24 months with $2,829 down in several states, including Michigan, and was running through July 31.
Some auto lease deals give consumers a way to save $200 or so on monthly car payments
Shoppers for hybrids will find a number of carmaker incentives this month, according to Edmunds. Buyers can get up to $3,070 off the 2023 Kia Sorrento hybrid (which sells for $36,690), up to $2,500 off the 2024 Audi SQ7 ($90,400) and up to $2,150 off the 2024 Kia Niro ($26,940). Two years ago, the market share for hybrids and electric vehicles was roughly equal, at 5.8% and 5.2% respectively, according to Edmunds. By May this year, hybrid vehicles had pulled ahead to 9.1% market share — up 16.9% year over year — while EVs were at 6.8%.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-are-snapping-up-hybrid-cars-here-are-some-of-the-best-deals-right-now-2b019130
Dealerships are sitting on a glut of 2023 vehicles, leading to steeper discounts and lower interest rates than usual, the auto research firm Edmunds said Wednesday. The share of ’23 models available at dealerships nationwide has reached 6.8%, up from 5.4% last year for 2022 models, it found. Faced with higher inventories, automakers and dealers are offering an average discount of $4,147 on last year’s models, Edmunds said — more than double the $1,919 average for ’22 models a year ago.
The 'absolute worst' of times for car buying are over
The average transaction price on a new vehicle was $46,660 in March, compared with $39,950 three years earlier, according to Edmunds, an online car-shopping guide. Repair and maintenance costs are up 8.2% year-over-year, and insurance costs are up 22.2%, Labor Department data show. Owners typically consider unloading their vehicle when they learn of a repair that will cost 10% or more of what they would pay for a new one, said Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ director of insights. He cautions that people tend to underrate the value of paying for a major fix.
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/the-new-math-of-driving-your-car-till-the-wheels-fall-off-9c23b7bc
Car shoppers in the first quarter financed an average of $27,774 on used vehicles, down $836, or 2.9 percent, compared with a year earlier, according to Edmunds. But used-vehicle monthly payments held steady, down $5 to $546, as the average interest rate on used models rose to 11.7 percent. The average new-vehicle interest rate was 7.1 percent during the quarter. Edmunds said its analysts encouraged consumers to watch incentives on certified pre-owned vehicles "since used-vehicle interest rates are particularly high."
https://www.autonews.com/finance-insurance/edmunds-used-cars-had-117-interest-rate-average-q1
"Buying a used car today is better than it has been in nearly four years," Ivan Drury, director of Insights at Edmunds, told FOX Television Stations. "We're not back to when it's like a $5,000 car or a $10,000 used car is readily available. That's definitely not the case today. But we're also not at the point in which used cars were essentially selling for the same price as new cars." The average price of a used vehicle — $27,297 as of January — is down 3% from a year ago and 12% below the peak of $31,095 in April 2022.
Is now the best time to buy a used car? Experts weigh in on post-pandemic pricing trends
Edmunds indicated 20.4% of new-vehicle sales with a trade-in had negative equity in the fourth quarter — the highest in two years — compared to 17.7% in Q4 2022 and 14.9% in Q4 2021. Edmunds reported the average amount owed on upside-down installment contracts climbed to a record high of $6,064 in Q4 2023, compared to $5,347 in Q4 2022 and $4,143 in Q4 2021. “A storm is brewing in the used market as incentives and inventory continue to trickle back into the new vehicle market,” Edmunds' director of insights, Ivan Drury, said. “With demand for near-new vehicles on the decline, used-car values are depreciating similarly to the way they did before the pandemic, and negative equity is rearing its ugly head.”
Edmunds: 'Storm is brewing' fueled by negative equity | Auto Remarketing
The average price paid for a new vehicle in the United States fell 1.2% in January from a year earlier, to $47,338, according to data collected by Edmunds.com. That’s down 2.4% from a peak of $48,516 set in December 2022. Even with prices edging down, Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, doesn’t foresee sales of new vehicles rising dramatically this year. Still-high loan rates mean that monthly payments remain burdensome for many at a time when buyers are seeking affordable options. Automakers, Drury said, are offering discounts mainly for slower-selling vehicles. But he said he thinks discounting will extend to additional vehicles in the coming months, meaning that buyers who don’t need a vehicle right now might be wise to wait.
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