true trends by true car march 2010 final v2

March 15th, 2010

by

Automotive intelligence covering new car prices, best car deals and more.

The Truth Will Prevail

During the last month, TrueCar acquired actual sales transaction data for more than 43% of all new vehicles sold within the United States. We continue to work to grow this number aggressively. As of February 2010, this represents more than 300,000 vehicles sold nationally in February and over 600,000 year-to-date.

TrueCar is insatiable about data with our goal to find 100% of all purchase transactions, even if that means finding the same transaction multiple times from multiple sources within the car-buying ecosystem.

We obtain our data directly from car dealers, respected dealer management system (DMS) providers, and well-known data aggregators within the automotive space. We also acquire vehicle configuration data, customer and dealer incentives data, financing and loan data, vehicle registration an insurance data, and much, much more.

TrueCar believes the greater our informational accuracy, the greater benefit we provide to both dealers and consumers.

Score

TrueCar Price Flex Score

1

Least Flexible 2010 Models

ModelMake

Grand Marquis

Express Passenger

Town Car

Charger

300

Chevrolet

Mercury

Lincoln

Dodge

Chrysler

MDX

Tiguan

Acura

Volkswagen

QX56Infiniti

A4

Town & Country

Audi

Chrysler

1

1

2

2

2

3

3

4

4

1

99

99

99

98

98

98

97

97

97

96

Score

Most Flexible 2010 Models

ModelMake

Tribute

RX-8

HS 250h

Express Cargo

MX-5 Miata

Mazda

Mazda

Lexus

Chevrolet

Mazda

GS 450h

Corvette

Lexus

Chevrolet

Ram 1500Dodge

Avalon

Corolla

Toyota

Toyota

Least and Most Flexible 2010 Vehicles ( by Body Type )

Least Flexible ModelBody Type

VW New Beetle Convertible (Score: 14)

VW New Beetle Couple (Score: 15)

Toyota 4WD Truck (Score: 21)

Mercury Grand Marquis (Score: 1)

Acura MDX (Score: 2)

Coupe

Convertible

Pickup

Sedan

Sport Utility

Chevrolet Express Passenger (Score: 1)

Most Flexible Model

Mazda MX-5 Miata (Score: 98)

Mazda RX-8 (Score: 99)

Dodge Ram 1500 (Score: 97)

Lexus HS 250h (Score: 99)

Mazda Tribute (Score: 99)

Chevrolet Express Cargo Van (Score: 98)VanWagon

What is the TrueCar Price Flex Score?

The TrueCar Price Flex Score measures the elasticity of transaction price by model. The Price Flex Score calcula-tion dynamically incorporates the factors that effect price variance including the model’s transaction price range, current inventory and sales data. A vehicle experiencing extremely low inventory and a small range of transaction prices will have a low Price Flex Score. Don’t expect much of a discount from the TrueCar average transaction price on a vehicle with a low Price Flex Score. If a vehicle has a high Price Flex Score, however, you have the potential to strike

a deal significantly below (or above, if you’re not careful!) the TrueCar average transaction price. Here are the 22010 models with the highest and the lowest Price Flex Scores. We also show the models with the highest and lowest Price Flex Score within each vehicle category. The scores range from 1 to 100. A score of 1 corresponds to the lowest Price Flex Score and indicates a very small -if any- negotiation power. A score of 100 indicates the highest Price Flex Score, meaning there is a big range of transaction prices for that model.

March 15th, 2010 - TrueTrends™ by TrueCar™ - © 2010 TrueCar, Inc.

Audi A4 (Score: 4) Cadillac CTS Wagon (Score: 84)

Greatest Discounts

1

Make

Top Discounts: 2009 Makes Top Discounts: 2010 Makes

Top Discounts: 2009 Models Top Discounts: 2010 Models

Rank % Below MSRP

HUMMER 21%

Chevrolet 17%

Mazda 17%

Kia 17%

Buick

2

3

4

5 17%

1

MakeRank % Below MSRP

Ford 13%

Hyundai 12%

Chrysler 11%

Mercury 10%

Jeep

2

3

4

5 10%

1

Make / ModelRank % Below MSRP

Nissan Titan 27%

Chevrolet Cobalt 25%

HUMMER H3 21%

Kia Optima 20%

Mazda MX-5 Miata

2

3

4

5 20%

1

Make / ModelRank

Hyundai SonataHyundai Sonata 18%

Jeep Grand Cherokee 18%

Ford Ranger 17%

Jeep Commander 17%

Chevrolet Cobalt

2

3

4

5 16%

2

% Below MSRP


Makes with Greatest Discounts on 2010 Vehicles

% B

ELO

W M

SRP

5%

7%

9%

11%

15%

13%

Ford ChryslerHyundaiMercuryJeep

November December January February

How Do I Use This?

The greatest percent below MSRP helps identify the biggest consumer discounts of the month. Below, TrueCar ranks 2009 and 2010 vehicles with average transaction prices that comprise the greatest percent off the make or model’s average MSRP.

Greatest Discounts (continued...)

3

Top Discounts: 2009 Models ( by Body Type ) Top Discounts: 2010 Models ( by Body Type )

ModelBody Type% Below MSRP

Nissan Titan 27%

HUMMER H3 21%

Kia Optima 20%

Mazda MX-5 Miata 20%

Chevrolet Corvette

Sport Utility

Pickup

Sedan

Convertible

Coupe 17%

Chevrolet Express Cargo Van 17%

Suzuki SX4 7%

Van

Wagon

ModelBody Type% Below MSRP

Jeep Grand Cherokee 18%

Hyundai Sonata 18%

Ford Ranger 17%

Chevrolet Cobalt 16%

Toyota Sienna

Sedan

Sport Utility

Pickup

Coupe

Van 12%

Volvo XC70 11%

Volvo C70 11%

Wagon

Convertible


Best Day of the Month to Buy a Car

Consumer Tip of the Month

Our projections for the best and worst day to buy a new vehicle are rooted in an analysis of historical sales as well as short term forecasts. Our projections, over the next 31 days, suggest that the best day to buy a car will be on April 12th, the Monday before taxes are due. The worst day to buy a car will likely be on Easter Sunday, April 4th.

PRO

JEC

TED

AVE

RA

GE

DIS

CO

UN

T

4.5%

5.0%

5.5%

6.0%

6.5%

7.0%

Best Day to Buy a VehicleApril 12th, 2010Average Discount: 6.67%

Worst Day to Buy a VehicleEaster Sunday, April 4th, 2010Average Discount: 5.51%

3/17/10 3/21/10 3/25/10 3/29/10 4/02/10 4/06/10 4/10/10 4/14/10

Apr 4, 2010

Apr 12, 2010

Greatest Price Drop: Top Vehicles ( by Body Type )

Greatest Price Drop: Top Vehicles (overall)

Greatest Price Drop Month Over Month

4

1

Year / Make / Model / TrimRank $ Drop From Last Month

2010 BMW X5 AWD 4dr 35d -$836

2010 Volkswagen Routan 4dr Wagon SE -$599

2010 Honda Odyssey 5dr EX -$575

2010 Lexus GX 460 4WD 4dr Premium -$566

2010 Toyota Camry 4dr Sedan I4 Manual

2

3

4

5 -$558

Year / Make / Model / TrimBody Type $ Drop From Last Month

2010 BMW X5 AWD 4dr 35d -$836

2010 Volkswagen Routan 4dr Wagon SE -$599

2010 Toyota Camry 4dr Sedan I4 Manual -$558

2010 Audi A5 2dr Cabriolet 2.0L Quattro Premium Plus -$501

2010 Ford Mustang 2dr Coupe GT

Minivan

Sport Utility

Sedan

Convertible

Coupe -$399

2010 Subaru Outback 4dr Wagon H4 Auto 2.5i Ltd -$294

2010 Toyota Tacoma 2WD Reg I4 MT -$153

Wagon

Pickup

For each body type, TrueCar tracks the average transaction price for each trim and lists vehicles with the greatest drop in price month over month.

TrueCar also ranks the trims with the overall greatest drop in price from February 8th, 2010 to March 7th, 2010.


This largest incentives list totals both available consumer and dealer incentives. The incentives are ranked by largest percent discount off MSRP. Generally, incentives are active throughout the month in which the TrueTrends report is released. Though active at the time of the report’s release, incentives are subject to change without notice. Check for updates on the TrueCar price report for each model and with your dealer.

Largest Total Incentives for March

2010 Models with Largest Total Incentives

1

Make / ModelRank % of MSRP

2010 Chevrolet Cobalt 19%

2010 Volvo XC70 15%

2010 Nissan Titan 15%

2010 Chevrolet Malibu 13%

2010 BMW 6 Series

$ Incentives

$3,000

$6,000

$4,000

$3,000

$10,000

MSRP

$15,710

$38,800

$27,120

$22,545

$79,325

2

3

4

5 12%

5

2009 Vehicles: Shortest Days in Inventory 2009 Vehicles: Longest Days in Inventory

1

Make / ModelRank Days in Inventory

Kia Borrego 75

Infiniti G37 93

Hyundai Santa Fe 111

Toyota Venza 112

Kia Rio

2

3

4

5 113

Nissan Cube 118

Chevy Silverado 2500 HD 131

Chevy Silverado 1500 134

GMC Sierra 1500

6

7

8

9 134

Kia Rondo10 134

1


Chevrolet Impala 338

Chevrolet Cobalt 312

Honda Accord 284

Volkswagen Routan 283

Chevrolet Aveo 5

2

3

4

5 272

Honda Civic 268

Volkswagen Jetta 266

Dodge Caliber 239

Hyundai Accent

6

7

1 Sport Utility 35

Coupe 60

Sedan 62

Pickup 63

Van

2

3

4

5 63

Hatchback 63

Convertible 102

6

8

9 238

Ford F-25010 236

Shortest to Longest ( by Body Type )

Industry Wide Average Days to Turn for February: 53 Days

Shortest and Longest Days in Inventory

7


2010 Vehicles: Shortest Days in Inventory 2010 Vehicles: Longest Days in Inventory

1


Mercedes-Benz GL550 10

BMW 335D 10

Chevrolet Equinox 11

BMW X6 11

GMC Terrain

2

3

4

5 12

Lexus GX 460 12

Lexus LX 570 13

Acura MDX 13

Toyota 4Runner

6

7

8

9 14

Chevrolet Suburban K150010 14

1


Hyundai Sonata 108

Kia Forte 94

Ford Mustang 93

Chevrolet Malibu 89

Dodge Grand Caravan

2

3

4

5 89

Dodge Avenger 84

Ford Focus 82

Chevrolet Traverse 81

BMW 535I

6

7

8

9 81

Ford Transit Connect10 80

February’s Shortest and Longest Days in Inventory

TrueCar ranks the vehicles that spend, on average, the shortest and longest days on the lot before they sell. We rank by both overall shortest / longest days in inventory and by category. Vehicles that spend little time in inventory are in high demand, while vehicles that spend an extended time in inventory are in low demand.


Percent Industry Share of Model Year Vehicles

Model Year Share shows the percentage share of 2009 model year vehicles sold within the last month versus vehicles of any other model year sold. Gen-erally, the higher the model year share value, the higher the discount a consumer can expect to receive on that given model. It also reflects that dealers are more likely to cut deals on a 2009 model in order to make room for a 2010. At this time of the year, consumers should look for makes with a 2009 model year share of 25% or greater.

6

Model Year Share

Highest Percentage of 2009 Vehicles SoldLowest Percentage of 2009 Vehicles Sold

Make Rank % of Sales

1 Subaru 0.3%

Lexus 0.7%

Buick 1.2%

Acura 1.3%

Toyota

2

3

4

5 1.3%

Scion 1.4%

Mazda 1.6%

Ford 2.0%

Jeep

6

7

8

9 2.1%2.2%

1

MakeRank

smart

Pontiac

Saturn

Saab

Suzuki

2

3

4

5

HUMMER

Infiniti

Kia

Hyundai

6

7

8

9GMC10

% of Sales

98%

90%

89%

80%

46%

45%

32%

30%

16%14%10 Volvo


94%2010 Vehicles

6%2009 Vehicles

Among ’09 and ‘10 model sales, ’10 represents a 94% market share.

March 15th, 2010 - TrueTrends™ by TrueCar™ - © 2010 TrueCar, Inc. 7

Appendix

About Us

TrueCar (www.truecar.com) is the authority in new-car pricing. We aggregate multiple data sources to show car buyers and dealers how much people actually paid for a particular car in their geographic area. It is offered online, free of charge - so anyone can know at any time what is considered a good or great price. Consumers no longer walk into the dealership only partially informed and fully suspicious: they walk in knowing exactly the price of a fair deal. Dealers gain real-time, unbiased information about

Contact Us

TrueCar Inc.225 Santa Monica Blvd, 6th FloorSanta Monica, CA 90401(800) [email protected]

Visit us at www.truecar.com

marketplace pricing, helping them know how to price their cars to sell more and gain market share from other dealers. Led by a highly experienced team from the automotive and technology industries, TrueCar is based in Santa Monica, California.

Disclaimer

This report and the information contained herein is for your noncommercial, personal use on an “as-is, as available” basis and may be used by you for informational purposes only. TrueCar makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information contained in this report and the results of the use of such information, including but not limited to implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. The information contained in this report may

include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Neither TrueCar nor any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, or their respective partners, officers, directors, employees, or agents shall be held liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect, special, or consequential, including without limitation lost revenues or lost profits, arising from or in connection with your use or reliance on the information presented in this report.

true trends by true car march 2010 final v2

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