Which Segments Are Most Heavily Discounted?
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — With autumn approaching and dealers looking to clear their lots for new inventory coming in, the market is showing heavy discounts and incentives toward two particular segments right now.
In the latest TrueTrends Report, TrueCar.com pointed out that there is a "big push to capture new buyers" in luxury brands and large trucks.
"Typically, because of seasonality, the end of summer is really the best time to buy large trucks and luxury cars," explained Jesse Toprak, vice president of Industry, Trends and Insights for TrueCar.com.
"Dealers are trying to clear out their aging inventory and make room for the next model year so they have a great deal of flexibility," he added. "If consumers are in the market for a vehicle in either of those two segments, now is absolutely the time to get a great deal."
The average potential discount across the country in the large truck segment is at 11 percent, which is the highest among all segments. Luxury cars are second (8 percent).
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 leads the large truck segment and is projected to show a discount of 23 percent off MSRP for 2010 model-year units. The Lincoln MKZ (12 percent) leads the luxury car segment.
Looking at luxury cars in more detail, this segment has shown the heaviest decrease in price from a month ago, as its prices have dipped an average of $1,480. Coming in at No. 2 is the large car segment ($1,711) and in third are luxury SUVs ($1,150).
Continuing on, the report also looked at the days with heaviest and lowest discounts in the 31-day time frame that began Sunday and runs through Sept. 14.
TrueCar predicts that the average potential discounts will be the strongest on Sept. 2 (11.2 percent), which is the Thursday heading into Labor Day Weekend.
Meanwhile, the industry will likely have its lowest discount day on Sept. 14 (8.3 percent), according to TrueCar.
Next up, TrueCar discussed it Top Discounts list for individual brands on the 2010 model-year. Just like they did the previous month, domestics are dominating. Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury and GMC kept their spots in the Nos. 1-4 positions, respectively. Lincoln moved into the No. 5 position, pushing out Chrysler.
For individual vehicles, the Silverado grabbed the top spot for discounts (23 percent) followed by the Jeep Grand Cherokee (19 percent). The Hyundai Sonata, Ford Ranger and Mercury Grand Marquis were tied for third (17 percent).
For 2011 models, the biggest incentives on the brand level can be found at Toyota, followed by GMC, Chevrolet, Honda and BMW, respectively. Among individual models, the Chevrolet Malibu has the greatest discount (13 percent), followed by the Toyota Camry (12 percent). The GMC Arcadia, Buick Enclave and Ford Flex are all at 9 percent.
TrueCar Price Flex Score
Moving along, TrueCar discussed which models have the most wiggle room on price, as it shared its latest TrueCar Price Flex Score ratings.
The higher the Flex Score, the greater the likelihood that the actual sale price on the model will be greater or smaller than the MSRP. Conversely, vehicles at the lower end of the Flex Score spectrum aren't as likely to see a change.
Based on TrueCar's analysis, the Nissan Cube and Hyundai Accent are predicted to be the most flexible of 2010 models as they both had scores of 100. Meanwhile, the least flexible of the 2010 class are the Audi Q7 and the Cadillac SRX, each of which had a score of 1.