"Consider a recent analysis that found automakers are implementing more aggressive price increases on 2026 model-year vehicles compared to when 2025s were hitting dealership lots last year. Cloud Theory, which tracks car inventory on dealer websites across the country, found the average marketed price increase on 2026 models was nearly $2,000, compared to an approximately $400 uptick during last year's model year changeover. This year, 23 models have at least a $2,000 price hike; last year there were just nine."
"Yet the huge car sticker price increases tied to tariffs which analysts originally warned might tally anywhere from an extra $5,000 to $15,000 per vehicle haven't come to pass. Any increase comes on top of average car prices that were already hovering around $50,000. Pair that with stubbornly high interest rates, and the average monthly car payment is now $766, according to Edmunds.com Inc., up more than 3% from a year ago. A record share of subprime borrowers has been falling behind on their auto loans this fall."
Automakers implemented larger price increases on many 2026 model-year vehicles, with Cloud Theory reporting an average marketed increase near $2,000 compared with about $400 during the 2025 changeover. Twenty-three models posted at least a $2,000 hike, up from nine the prior year. Industry analysts attribute much of the bigger increase to higher import tariff costs that OEMs have absorbed. Average transaction prices were already near $50,000, and the typical monthly payment rose to $766, contributing to rising delinquency rates among subprime borrowers. Earlier extreme tariff-driven price predictions did not materialize.
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