The Cox Automotive/Moody’s Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index increased from 35.1 in March to 35.2 in April after five months of incremental improvement. +

Kelley Blue Book reports trucks and SUVs are largely to blame for April’s average new-vehicle transaction price of $49,461, a 1.8% year-over-year increase. +

Former PCMI and Cox Automotive executive Autumn Dennis has been named vice president of sales for TecAssured, where she will lead sales, growth initiatives and enterprise partnerships. +

Cox Automotive’s acquisition of Fullpath’s customer data platform and marketing automation tools will give dealers the ability to create personalized customer experiences at scale. +

Cox Automotive and Moody’s Analytics report higher incomes, steady interest rates and increased incentives offset a near-$50,000 average transaction price in March. +

Sales of full-size SUVs and pickups — and a decreased appetite for small cars — pushed the average U.S. new vehicle transaction price to $49,275 in March. +

Cox Automotive analysts say higher prices and longer purchase cycles helped dealers secure service business from 80% of new car buyers last year. +

Kelley Blue Book’s Erin Keating sees rising ATPs as “more like normalization than a new pricing problem” as MSRPs — and incentive spending — ticked upward in February. +

Analysts say fewer than half of U.S. dealers are optimistic about the auto retail market in Cox Automotive’s latest Dealer Sentiment Index report, but expectations for the spring are notably higher. +

Experian reports subprime borrowers accounted for 15.3% of U.S. auto finance originations in the fourth quarter, claiming their largest share of the market since 2021. +