J.D. Power forecasts the average cost of a new vehicle at $38,088 for the first half of 2021, a new record high and a 10.1 percent increase from 2020 (14.1 percent up from 2019).
Sales of new vehicles for June are anticipated to show growth over sales in June of 2020 and 2019. Sales of new vehicles could reach 1,133,900 or a 12.4 percent increase compared to June 2020 sales. The first half of the year’s new vehicle sales are projected at 7,110,600, a 36 percent increase over 2020’s sales.
If spending continues as trending, consumers will purchase $45.6 billion on new vehicles in June 2021, a record for the month, and up $10.3 billion from June 2020. The average cost of a new vehicle will be a record $40,206. The previous record was set in May 2021 at $38,539.
Passenger vehicles are hard to find. Nearly 76 percent of new-vehicle sales in June are expected to be trucks or SUVs. The average time a new vehicle is predicted to remain on a dealer lot is 39 days, down from 93 days a year ago. For June, dealers are anticipated to sell nearly 41 percent of vehicles within 10 days of their arrival, a 35 percent increase from May 2021 and 25 percent from June 2019.
