Why car prices are still so high — and why they are unlikely to fall anytime soon
The average new vehicle costs nearly $49,000, an almost $10,000 increase from before the pandemic. This is a look at today's deeply weird auto market.
It has been nearly three years since auto plants around the world started to shut down because of the pandemic.
Yet between the pandemic, an acute shortage of semiconductors and other supply chain snarls, vehicle production has never really returned to normal.
And prices? Hoo boy.
Both new and used prices have stopped skyrocketing. In fact, both dipped slightly in February.
But the average new-vehicle transaction price is still $48,763, according to Kelley Blue Book. Before the pandemic, the average new vehicle sold for $37,876.
At an auto show this year, Noah and India Grabisch of Laurel, Md., were looking at new SUVs, which they liked. But an $86,000 price
