may 2010 truetrends by truecar

May 14th, 2010

by

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

The Truth Will Prevail

TrueCar obtains 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 and insurance data, and much, much more. 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.

Our data is among the most timely and comprehensive in the industry, as we are able to process most car sales within a week of the actual sales date, and have a substantial fraction on the site within 48 hours of the actual sale. 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 Score

Most Flexible 2010 Models

ModelMake

Least and Most Flexible 2010 Vehicles ( by Body Type )

Least Flexible ModelBody Type Most Flexible Model

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 2010 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.

May 14th, 2010 - TrueTrends™ by TrueCar™ - © 2010 TrueCar, Inc.

Audi

Lincoln

Audi

Chevrolet

Ford

Acura

Chevrolet

Ford

Audi

Buick

Audi A5 (Score: 1)

Chevrolet Camaro (Score: 9)

Ford Explorer Sport Trac (Score: 8)

Audi A4 (Score: 2)

Lincoln Navigator (Score: 1)

Chrysler Town & Country (Score: 6)

Subaru Outback (Score: 21)

Convertible

Coupe

Pickup

Sedan

Sport Utility

Van

Wagon

BMW 650i (Score: 87)

Hyundai Accent (Score: 100)

Dodge Ram 2500 (Score:100)

Mitsubishi Lancer (Score: 99)

Jeep Commander (Score: 98)

Volkswagen Routan (Score: 99)

Nissan cube (Score: 96)

Dodge

Hyundai

Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi

Volkswagen

Jeep

Nissan

Nissan

Chevrolet

Mazda

Ram 2500

Accent

Lancer

Galant

Routan

Commander

Titan

Versa

Aveo

MAZDA6

A5

Navigator

A4

Suburban

Expedition

MDX

Equinox

Flex

A3

Enclave

1

1

2

3

3

4

4

4

5

5

100

100

99

99

99

98

98

98

97

97

Greatest Discounts

1

Make

Top Discounts: 2010 Makes Top Discounts: 2011 Makes

Top Discounts: 2010 Models Top Discounts: 2011 Models

Rank % Below MSRP

2

3

4

5

1

MakeRank % Below MSRP

2

3

4

5

1

Make / ModelRank % Below MSRP

2

3

4

5

1

Make / ModelRank

2

3

4

5

2

% Below MSRP


Ford

Chevrolet

Chrysler

GMC

Lincoln

Chevrolet Cobalt

Hyundai Sonata

Jeep Grand Cherokee

GMC Sierra 1500

Toyota Avalon

Toyota Camry

Honda Pilot

BMW 1 Series

Volvo C70

Kia Sorento

25%

18%

18%

18%

17%

9%

8%

7%

7%

7%

Toyota

Honda

Kia

BMW

Volvo

8%

8%

7%

7%

6%

14%

14%

11%

11%

11%

Makes with Greatest Discounts on 2010 Vehicles

% B

ELO

W M

SRP

5%

7%

9%

11%

15%

13%

Ford ChevroletChryslerGMCLincoln

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 2010 and 2011 vehicles with average transaction prices that comprise the greatest percent off the make or model’s average MSRP.

Top discounts for 2010 Models are based on the top discounts for each brand.

Greatest Discounts (continued...)

3

Top 2010 Models ( by Body Type ) Top 2011 Models ( by Body Type )

ModelBody Type% Below MSRP ModelBody Type

% Below MSRP


Best Day of the Month to Buy a Car

Chevrolet Cobalt

Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Ford Focus

Ford Mustang

Chrysler Town & Country

Hyundai Elantra Touring

Toyota Camry

Honda Pilot

Volvo C70

Toyota Sienna

Volvo C30

Sedan

Pickup

Sport Utility

Coupe

Convertible

Van

Wagon

Sedan

Sport Utility

Convertible

Van

Coupe

25%

19%

18%

15%

11%

11%

10%

9%

8%

7%

7%

6%

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 Memorial Day, May 31st, the last Monday of the month. The worst day to buy a car will likely be on Thursday, June 10th.

Best Day to Buy a VehicleMay 31st, 2010Average Discount: 6.89%

Worst Day to Buy a VehicleJune 10th, 2010Average Discount: 5.15%

PRO

JEC

TED

AVE

RA

GE

DIS

CO

UN

T

4.5%

5.0%

5.5%

6.0%

6.5%

7.0%

5/17/10 5/21/10 5/25/10 5/29/10 6/02/10 6/06/10 6/10/10 6/14/10

May 31, 2010

June 10, 2010

*The pickup and wagon categories have been purposely excluded due to insu�cient data for those categories.

Top Vehicles ( by Body Type )

Top Vehicles (overall)

Greatest Price Drop Month Over Month

4

1

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

2

3

4

5

Year / Make / Model / TrimBody Type

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 April 9th, 2010 to May 6th, 2010.

$ Drop From Last Month


Largest Total Incentives for May

Sport Utility

Sedan

Van

Pickup

Convertible

Coupe

Wagon

2010 Lexus GX 460 4WD 4dr

2010 Toyota Camry 4dr Sedan V6 Auto XLE

2010 Volkswagen Routan 4dr Wagon SE

2010 Honda Ridgeline 4WD Crew Cab RTL

2010 BMW 3 Series 2dr Convertible 335i

2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2dr Coupe 1LT

2010 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen 4dr Man TDI

2010 Lexus GX 460 4WD 4dr

2010 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class 4MATIC 4dr 3.0 BlueTEC

2010 Toyota Camry 4dr Sedan V6 Auto XLE

2010 Volkswagen Routan 4dr Wagon SE

2010 Cadillac CTS Sedan 4dr Sedan 3.0L RWD

($987)

($930)

($837)

($685)

($682)

($987)

($837)

($685)

($613)

($395)

($342)

($149)

This table shows the highest incentive for each brand ranked. Generally, incentives are active throughout the month in which TrueTrends by TrueCar is released. Though active at the time of the reports’ release, incentives are subject to change without notice. Check for updates on the TrueCar price report for each model and with your dealer.

Models with Largest Total Incentives

1

Make / ModelRank Customer Cash Rebate

2

3

4

5

BMW M6

Infiniti QX56

GMC Sierra 1500

Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Ford Super Duty F-250

$0

$0

$5,000

$5,000

$5,000

$12,500

$6,000

$0

$0

$0

Dealer Cash

5

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

1

Make / ModelRank Days in Inventory

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1


Shortest to Longest ( by Body Type )

Industry Wide Average Days in Inventory for April: 50 Days

Shortest and Longest Days in Inventory

1

7


2

3

4

5

6

2011 Vehicles: Shortest Days in Inventory 2011 Vehicles: Longest Days in Inventory

1


2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1


April’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.


Hyundai Tucson

Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC

Toyota Highlander

Toyota RAV4

GMC Terrain

Audi Q5

Lexus LX 570

Subaru Outback

Chevrolet Equinox

Mercedes-Benz E550

BMW X5

BMW 128i

Scion xB

Ford F-350

Toyota Avalon

Ford F-250

BMW 335i

BMW 328i

Infiniti M37

Volvo C70

Volvo C30

Mercedes-Benz SL550

Toyota Camry

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Kia Sorento

Toyota Sienna

Hyundai Sonata

Honda Pilot

Hyundai Sonata

Ford Mustang

Ford F-350

Mitsubishi Galant

Ford F-250

BMW 135i

Ford Transit Connect

BMW 528i

Hummer H3

Toyota Yaris

Sport Utility

Van

Wagon

Sedan

Pickup

Coupe

Convertible

32

51

55

58

59

61

78

10

10

12

13

13

14

14

14

15

15

4

4

7

7

7

8

8

8

13

35

32

30

30

29

27

20

15

14

157

113

108

108

105

100

100

97

97

96

6May 14th, 2010 - TrueTrends™ by TrueCar™ - © 2010 TrueCar, Inc.

2

3

4

5

Lowest Percentage of 2010 Vehicles Sold

Make Rank % of Sales

1 smart*

Kia

Hyundai

Suzuki

Infiniti

4.3%

48.0%

62.1%

74.5%

79.7%

2

3

4

5

Highest Percentage of 2011 Vehicles Sold

1

MakeRank % of Sales

Hyundai

Kia

Volvo

Toyota

Infiniti

33.6%

29.8%

18.0%

14.8%

14.5%

Although still early in the year, 2011 model year vehicles started showing up in decent numbers within the last few weeks and already make up 6% of total vehicle sales.*The smart car has 94.3% of the 2009 model year share.

Percent Industry Share of Model Year Vehicles

Model Year Share shows the percentage share of 2010 model year vehicles sold within the last month versus vehicles of any other model year sold. Generally, 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 2010 model in order to make room for a 2011. At this time of year, many brand’s model year mix are predominantly comprised of 2010’s. The makes with the highest percentage of 2010 model year share are Buick, Subaru, and Lexus.

Model Year Share

Between 2009, 2010, and 2011 vehicles, 2010 shares 92% of total sales.

92% 2010 VEHICLES

20092%

201092%

20116%

May 14th, 2010 - TrueTrends™ by TrueCar™ - © 2010 TrueCar, Inc. 7

Appendix

About Us

TrueCar is the authority in new-car pricing. We show car buyers and car dealers how much people actually paid for a particular car in a specific local area. With TrueCar pricing, both new car buyers and new car dealers can know at any time what is considered a good or great price on a new car. Consumers no longer need to walk into a dealership partially informed and fully suspicious – using TrueCar they walk in knowing the price of a fair deal. Dealers benefit by TrueCar’s 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 price cars for increased sales, and ultimately gaining market share over other dealers. Our innovative new car pricing service is offered free of charge on our website at www.truecar.com, on our mobile site at mobile.truecar.com, and via syndication of our tools and pricing data to leading automotive research sites throughout the web.

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.

may 2010 truetrends by truecar

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