According to J.D. Power, the average price of a car to date through February is about $32,200, about $500 more than the price of a vehicle last year.
Tightening credit conditions and higher interest rates are driving up monthly payments, which now exceed $525. New tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could also add to the problem.
If the cost of a new car continues to rise at rates it has been, “it will stop sales,” said Wes Lutz, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association. “It’s just more than the consumer can handle.”
Read the article at The Wall Street Journal.
