Latest news with #ErinKeating
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
US car prices higher in April after tariffs hit
DETROIT: U.S. new-vehicle prices surged in April, data released on Monday showed, a sign that the effects of President Donald Trump's auto-tariff measures are rippling through the car market. The average price consumers paid, after discounts and promotions, rose 2.5% from March, more than double the typical 1.1% increase over those two months in recent years, Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book showed. In the past decade, the only larger such increase was in April 2020, when prices rose 2.7% during pandemic-related factory shutdowns. Automakers are adjusting to 25% U.S. tariffs on vehicle imports from many countries, including major trading partners Mexico and Canada, but few have raised sticker prices. Some, like Hyundai ( Ford (F.N) and Jeep-maker Stellantis ( have even rolled out deals to reassure buyers and keep sales flowing. Still, consumer demand has risen over the past few months as buyers rush to get ahead of any tariff-related price increases, dealers and auto executives have said. That has translated into new-car shoppers shelling out more on average at dealerships, according to Cox. Yet even if carmakers hold prices steady, consumer expectations that tariffs will eventually send prices higher likely led to inflation on certain models, said Cox executive analyst Erin Keating. 'Those models got more demand, and therefore the local pricing dynamics at the dealership level likely helped those prices go higher.' Ford is charging more for its Mexico-built products, Reuters first reported last week. Some models of the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pickup and Bronco Sport will cost as much as $2,000 more, according to a notice sent to dealers. Wholesale used-vehicle prices rose in April, according to Cox's Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which increased 4.9% to 208.2 from a year ago, up 2.7% from March. Promotions have kept prices steady overall, some automakers said. Consumer-incentive programs are still very strong, said Todd Szott, dealer partner at Szott Automotive Group, which has Ford, Stellantis and Toyota dealerships in Metro Detroit. 'Pricing is fairly stable at this point.' Sales incentives on new cars as a percentage of transaction prices, a measure of discounts and promotions, fell to the lowest since the summer of 2024, Cox said. A dip in the number of vehicles sitting on dealer lots could point to upward pressure on prices in coming months. On a recent webinar with the Automotive Press Association, Cox Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke noted that fewer than 2.6 million vehicles are on dealer lots, and that supply could fall even further as sales surge and importers reduce deliveries. Paul Zimmermann, partner-owner at Matick Automotive Group of Michigan, which owns GM and Toyota stores, said vehicle stocks are getting lighter in some areas after a robust April. 'I do have some concerns just in terms of the pipeline,' he said. 'It's running healthy right now, but we need to make sure that there's no blip.' Cox previously estimated new vehicles directly affected by a 25% tariff could cost 10% to 15% more, while the prices on vehicles not affected by the full tariff could rise 5%. Keating does not expect double-digit percentages soon, but maybe over the long term. Automakers may use model-year changeover time in the summer to adjust prices, she added.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kelley Blue Book Report: As Tariff Talk Clouds the Market, New-Vehicle Prices Jump Higher by 2.5% in April
ATLANTA, May 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The monthly new-vehicle average transaction price (ATP) report from Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book was released today. Key takeaways from the April report include: New-vehicle ATP increased in April to $48,699. The month-over-month ATP increase of 2.5% was sharp, as April typically delivers a monthly increase of 1.1%. In the past decade, only April 2020 produced a larger month-over-month increase, at 2.7%. New-vehicle prices in April were higher year over year by 1.1%, an increase below long-term averages but higher than in recent months. According to Kelley Blue Book estimates, over the long term, new-vehicle prices typically rise more than 3% year over year. Since April 2023, however, as new-vehicle inventory recovered from the COVID-era shortage, new-vehicle prices have been mostly flat year over year. The new-vehicle sales pace in April was 17.3 million. The sales pace was lower than March but the strongest April since 2021. Amid the buying frenzy, new-vehicle sales incentives fell to 6.7% of ATP, down from 7.0% in March and at the lowest point since the summer of 2024. Prior to April, the six-month average was 7.4% of ATP. The Compact SUV segment, one of the most popular segments and one highly exposed to new import tariffs, saw vehicle prices that were mostly flat month over month and year over year at $36,416. Incentives and discounts, however, declined in April to 7.8% of ATP, down from 8.2% in March. Since April 2024, incentives in the Compact SUV segment have averaged 9.1% of ATP. Similarly, in the Subcompact SUV segment, April transaction prices held mostly steady month over month, but incentives also declined. Among core volume brands, the results in April were mixed. Audi, Land Rover and Volvo saw higher ATPs and lower incentives compared to March. Three General Motors brands – Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC – also posted higher ATPs, with little change to incentives. On the other hand, Buick saw lower prices and higher incentives in April. Acura and BMW also held prices lower and increased incentive spending compared to March. Sales of Porsche and Land Rover models accelerated in April, as both brands face higher future costs since 100% of their respective vehicles are imported. ATPs for Porsche led the industry last month at above $114,000, with Land Rover just behind at $113,000. April was the best sales month in 2025 for both brands, pushing the overall industry ATP higher. In April, Ford advertised heavily on a message of "holding prices steady" and celebrated its "built in America" leadership. And Ford brand prices and incentives in April were mostly unchanged compared to March, according to Kelley Blue Book data. One standout: The popular, Mexico-built Maverick pickup truck saw lower prices in April, and incentive spending increased to an all-time high of 6.6% of ATP. Sales were strong: A record 20,183 were sold in April. Quote from Erin Keating, Executive Analyst, Cox Automotive "Ever since President Trump announced auto tariffs 47 days ago, the cost of new cars has been steadily climbing. Even though there was a surge in shopping and sales early on, the manufacturer's suggested retail prices haven't budged. The pricing landscape is varied depending on the automaker, car segment and specific models – some are cutting incentives, others are in high demand, and the supply isn't evenly distributed across the board." Electric Vehicle Prices Reach Highest Point of Year in April, Incentive Decline Further The Kelley Blue Book team initially estimates new EV prices in April to be $59,255, higher year over year by 3.7% and higher than March by 0.2%. The March EV ATP was revised lower to $59,132. EV incentives declined for the second consecutive month in April, dropping to 11.6% of ATP. EV incentives peaked in November 2024 at 13.9% of ATP. In May, market-leader Tesla sold more than 45,000 EVs, the brand's best month of 2025, thanks mostly to sales of the freshened Model Y. Tesla's average ATP increased month over month and year over year in April, reaching $56,120, even though Cybertruck, at one point the best-selling product transacting over $100,000, had an ATP of $89,247. Sales of Cybertruck fell below 2,000 units for the first time in a year. New EV sales were lower month over month by nearly 6%, according to initial estimates from Kelley Blue Book. Year-to-date EV sales in 2025 are higher by 5.4%. (Look for an update on new- and used-EV sales later this month when the Cox Automotive EV Market Monitor is published.) Data tables are available for download. About Kelley Blue Book Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry for nearly a century. As the industry standard for generations, Kelley Blue Book provides transparent, objective information and data-driven, innovative tools for consumers, automotive dealers and manufacturers. Kelley Blue Book publishes millions of market-reflective values weekly on its top-rated website from its famous Blue Book® Trade-In Values to the Kelley Blue Book® Price Advisor tool, which offers a range for what consumers reasonably can expect to pay for a vehicle in their area. editors rate and review hundreds of new vehicles each year to help consumers understand the Best Cars and Best SUVs to meet their needs. Kelley Blue BookSM Instant Cash Offer provides a redeemable trade-in offer to transaction-ready consumers and conveniently connects them to local participating dealers. Kelley Blue Book's Service Advisor provides guidance on how much to pay for service and repairs, allowing consumers to schedule service with local dealers on Kelley Blue Book also provides vehicle values to finance and insurance companies as well as governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book is a Cox Automotive brand. About Cox AutomotiveCox Automotive is the world's largest automotive services and technology provider. Fueled by the largest breadth of first-party data fed by 2.3 billion online interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors leading solutions for car shoppers, auto manufacturers, dealers, lenders and fleets. The company has 29,000+ employees on five continents and a portfolio of industry-leading brands that include Autotrader®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, vAuto®, Dealertrack®, NextGear Capital™, CentralDispatch® and FleetNet America®. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately owned, Atlanta-based company with $23 billion in annual revenue. Visit or connect via @CoxAutomotive on X, CoxAutoInc on Facebook or Cox-Automotive-Inc on LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Kelley Blue Book Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Hot Pursuit!: Auto Tariffs with Erin Keating
Cox Automotive's Erin Keating joins the podcast to talk tariffs. Plus, Hannah reports back on the Cadillac Celestiq and Matt rides the Buell.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Scranton School Board to vote on legal services Monday
Scranton school directors will vote to appoint a solicitor for the district on Monday while formally accepting the resignation of a former director. The district submitted a request for proposals for legal services in February. Two firms — Joyce, Carmody & Moran PC of Pittston and Bethlehem-based King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, the district's current firm — met the proposal deadline, according to a listing for the district on Superintendent Erin Keating, Ed.D., said in an email Thursday that legal services were part of the second tier of requests for proposals the district issued. 'The RFP for legal services was made public, and the process adhered strictly to the Board Operating Guidelines (BOG) regarding the hiring of a solicitor,' she said. John Freund remains the district's solicitor, Keating said. At last Monday's work session, board President Ty Holmes confirmed he instructed the district's administration to begin negotiations with Joyce, Carmody & Moran to provide general and special education legal services. Director Tara Yanni said the board should appoint a firm that is the most cost effective with the most experience in public education law. Yanni, comparing the proposals, said the firm the majority of directors want to go with costs $240 an hour, while the other is $200 an hour. She also said the firm that wasn't selected serves 32 districts and has the most experience. 'For that reason I am not in favor of the firm desired by the majority of this board,' she said. Director Catherine Fox pointed out an attorney from the firm favored by the board majority sent a letter to the board in July 2023 opposing them taking action on any significant contracts, including ones related to the district's execution of government functions — such as legal services, administration and other functions under school code — if they didn't need to be renewed or reconsidered until after a new board assumes office. She wondered if the board could take action on legal services before the contract for the current firm ends in December and a new board is sworn in. Fox also asked that a work-based retainer method be implemented to save the district money. She requested the board deny both bids as the firms aren't based in the city and that the bid process be redone with the requirement that firms be in Scranton. Fox also asked the board to find a solicitor that specializes in ethics or submit for an advisory opinion through the state Ethics Commission because of a conflict of interest between members of the firm favored by the board and other roles they hold in the city. 'I believe that this will ensure we that we do our due diligence,' she said. 'There's a host of concerns that have been raised and they cannot be answered by just us or the people at the table, they have to be raised by somebody with higher knowledge than we hold.' The school board hired Joyce, Carmody & Moran PC as its labor counsel in 2018, but the board shifted those responsibilities to the firm Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams in 2020. The board has used the district's current firm, King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, since 2022, when a Lackawanna County judge ordered the district to rebid for its bus contract. That year, Dunmore-based Pete's Garage filed suit after learning the district negotiated with Krise Transportation of Punxsutawney without giving other bidders the same opportunity. In addition, directors will also vote to accept Katie Gilmartin's resignation as director. Gilmartin, who had served on the board since 2017 and was board president in 2020 and 2021, submitted her resignation Friday. She did not provide a reason for leaving the board in her resignation letter to Holmes, which The Times-Tribune obtained through a Right to Know request. 'You have my very best wishes for the continued success of the Scranton School District,' Gilmartin wrote in her letter. She declined to comment earlier this week on why she stepped down in the final year of her second four-year term. Directors plan to advertise for the vacancy after voting to accept her resignation.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Ford reports 1st quarter total sales fell 1.3% as it ended production of some models
Ford Motor Co. reported Tuesday that total U.S. new vehicle sales dropped by 1.3% to 501,291 vehicles in the first quarter compared with the year-ago period. The drop was due mostly to the timing on Ford's rental fleet sales, making the comparison against the year-ago period tougher, and its discontinuation of the popular Ford Edge SUV and Transit Connect van. Ford stopped production of the Edge in April last year. Ford ended the small Transit Connect after the 2023 model year. On a retail sales-only basis, Ford reported sales rose 5% for the quarter. It was driven by a surge in sales last month, the automaker said. Industry experts have reported some sales growth last month as consumers tried to get in front of the 25% tariffs on imported cars and parts set to take effect later this week. "As we expected of most automakers, Ford's increase in March makes a lot of sense given a new sense of urgency by consumers to buy before tariffs go into action," Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, told the Free Press on Tuesday. "Additionally, this time of year is typically a higher performing period as they don't call it the spring bounce for nothing." Morningstar Equity Strategist David Whiston said most automakers will have benefited from a March bounce in sales as consumers wanting to buy before tariffs hit. "So even if the numbers are awesome, it may not matter much in a few months once non-tariffed inventory is sold off dealer lots," Whiston told the Free Press. General Motors also reported Tuesday that its first quarter sales rose 17% compared with the same period last year. GM sold 693,363 vehicles in the first quarter in the U.S., compared with a 1.5% slide one year ago to 594,233 vehicles sold. GM's sales of all electric cars increased 94% to 31,887, making GM the second-largest seller of electric vehicles in the U.S. behind Tesla. Stellantis was also expected to report first-quarter sales results Tuesday. At Ford, the Dearborn-based automaker reported sales of its electrified vehicles and pickups supported most of its gains. In March, F-Series pickup sales rose 38%, driving a first-quarter boost of 24% on sales of 190,389 pickups. When adding sales of the midsize Ranger and smaller Maverick pickups, Ford's total pickup sales came in at 243,317 in the quarter. Ford said total truck sales, which include its vans and pickups, soared 15% to 290,387 vehicles sold in the quarter compared with the year-ago quarter. A standout star was the compact pickup Maverick. With improved availability, it delivered an all-time monthly sales record of 19,008 sold in March, Ford said. For the quarter, total Maverick sales were down slightly at 2.7% to 38,015 compared with 39,061 a year earlier. More: The comeback story of Ford's Ranger pickup and the push to top Toyota Tacoma global sales Cox's Keating said the March surge in Maverick sales makes sense given Ford builds the Maverick at its Hermosillo Assembly plant in Mexico, alongside the Bronco Sport. Both vehicles are then sold in North America and South America. The Maverick is one of Ford's products that could see a price hike because of the 25% tariffs President Donald Trump plans to impose starting Thursday on imported vehicles and parts. "It's a great thing for consumers to have the affordable pickup in stock and to see improved availability," Keating said of the Maverick, which starts at $26,995. "An all-time monthly record for the vehicle reminds us to keep an eye out on some of the most popular, and affordable models as things unfold with tariffs." Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities remarked on Ford's results, "These are relatively strong numbers for Ford as the F-series showed solid demand in this uncertain backdrop. We would characterize these results as a step in the right direction for (CEO) Jim Farley and Ford." Sales of Ford's electrified vehicles — which includes EVs and hybrids — rose by 25.5% in the quarter to 73,623 sold. Ford said In the first quarter, its electrified vehicles represented 15% of total sales — up 3 percentage points over the same period last year. In January, Ford said that it would extend its program that offers customers who buy or lease an electric vehicle a free home charger and complimentary installation through the end of March. The automaker said this program helped boost Ford's fourth-quarter EV sales. Called the "Ford Power Promise," customers who purchased or leased a Ford Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning or E-Transit Cargo Van customers are eligible. Ford reported it sold 22,550 all-electric vehicles, an 11.5% boost from the year-ago quarter. Ford sold 51,073 hybrid models, a whopping 33% increase from a year earlier. Again, the Maverick was a standout, beginning the year as a bestselling hybrid pickup. Of Maverick's total sales of 38,015, the hybrid powertrain comprised 21,414 sales. Dealers have said the Mustang Mach-E is a hot seller, but hard to get. Ford said it sold 11,607 of the electric SUVs, up 21% from a year-ago, despite limited inventory. On Tuesday, Ford reassured dealers, saying 2025 Mustang Mach-E SUVs are in transit and will make their way to dealer lots in April. Sales of E-Transit electric vans rose 30% in the quarter totaling 3,756, Ford said. Ford SUV sales declined by 16.7% to 201,527 vehicles sold. The biggest part of that decline came from the discontinuation of the Ford Edge. Ford reported it sold 2,078 Edges in the quarter, a 94% decline from 35,157 of the SUVs sold in the year-ago period. Sales of the Expedition and Explorer were also down in the quarter. Ford sold 47,314 Explorers, a 19% decline. It reported selling 13,482 Expedition SUVs, a 37.5% decline. Sales of the Bronco, Bronco Sport, Escape and Mach-E were all up in the quarter. Sales of the Bronco line, including Bronco Sport, totaled 65,958 SUVs, a 19% gain over last year. Ford reported its luxury brand, Lincoln, saw sales decline by 4.7% to 23,731 vehicles sold in the quarter compared with the year-ago period. Sales of the Navigator rose 29.8% to 4,058 in the quarter and sales of the Corsair were almost flat at 6,240 vehicles sold. Finally, Ford said its Ford Pro Intelligence software platform now has nearly 674,000 active subscriptions, based on end of first quarter estimates, up 20% year-over-year. Also customer usage of BlueCruise, the hands-free highway driving technology, at the end of the first quarter, reached about 5 million "cumulative hands-free highway hours driven across Ford and Lincoln." Ford said its dealers provided more than 3.8 million remote service experiences to customers last year and the momentum continued into the first quarter, with services up 11%. These include Mobile Service — in which technicians drive to service a customer's vehicle. It also includes pickup and delivery where a dealer employee picks up, services and returns a customer's vehicle to the customer. Dealers have provided more than 503,822 Mobile Service experiences during the first quarter, a 14.5% increase from a year ago. More: Wall Street increases range of estimated new car price hike due to tariffs Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@ Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford: 1st quarter total sales dip 1.3% as it ends some production
