SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- An analysis by Edwards.com found the average sticker price for a new car or light truck hit $30,481 in December, up 4.6 percent from December 2002.
It's the first time average new vehicle prices have topped $30,000, but those prices were reduced by rebates and generous incentives that lowered the average net sales price to $26,077 -- 14 percent below the manufacturers suggested retail price.
The average new domestic vehicle was discounted 18.8 percent below the sticker price.
"Some automakers have begun to institutionalize incentives into their overall pricing strategy; in other words they raise incentives and prices in tandem," said Jan Liu, executive director for data analysis for Edmunds.com., an online automotive site
Autodata Corp. said Big Three carmakers offered incentives averaging $3,712 per vehicle last month but still lost market share to Japanese, Korean and European manufacturers.
Incentives tempt buyers into the showroom where consumers typically use the discounts to buy more expensive vehicles with fancier option packages.
