Car shoppers paid a record average of $50,326 for new cars in December 2025, according to Kelley Blue Book.
The average December price for new cars was up 0.8% over November’s average of $49,814, according to the group. Kelley Blue Book also said automaker’s average manufacturer’s suggested retail price was also a record $52,627 in December 2025, which the group said was 1.2% higher than November.
Erin Keating, an executive analyst for Cox Automotive, said in a statement that the record high average car sales price can be attributed to a rise in stickers prices, which is common in December, and also a consumer preference for luxury models that is driving transaction totals higher each month.
“We typically see elevated prices in December, as the market delivers a strong mix of high-end andluxury vehicle sales,” Keating said. “Last month, nearly 20% of shoppers bought luxury, a peak for 2025 – and that doesn’t include the volume of high-end pickups that were snapped up by affluent shoppers.”
According to Kelley Blue Book, mid-size SUVs were the best selling vehicle segment in December for the first time in 2025, which the group said helped drive average transaction prices higher than when compact SUVs were leading the way in sales.
Here’s the average sales price in popular car segments:
Tata Motors was the car manufacturer that had the highest average transaction price in December 2025. The German automaker had an average sales price of $101513, up 2.2% from its average of $99,324 in November.
Here’s how other automakers fared on average transaction prices in December 2025:

source