Consumers in the market for a new vehicle from General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and FCA may want to consider buying this month as Black Friday and special promotions are under way and offer sizable savings off MSRP, according to TrueCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE), the modern car-buying service.
GM is running a month-long Black Friday promotion for its Buick, Chevrolet and GMC brands, promoting savings of as high as 20 percent off MSRP. FCA’s Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands are concurrently running a Black Friday promotion advertising no-interest financing for up to 75 months. Ford’s approach offers employee pricing to customers with its “Friends & Neighbors” promotion for Ford-brand vehicles.
“Black Friday programs in the auto industry are notably robust this year,” said Eric Lyman, TrueCar’s vice president of industry insights. “Similar to last November, automakers are getting an early start on Black Friday-themed advertising to keep consumers headed to dealer showrooms.”
Ford’s Taurus sedan tops TrueCar’s list of best savings on new vehicles this month, with discounts of as much as 19 percent off MSRP for 2015 SE models. Ram’s 1500 pickup truck also makes the list selling for 18 percent off MSRP for 2015 models. Chevrolet is offering customer cash on Malibu sedans averaging $2,535** in November.
“Although there are exceptions, we continue to see large discounting on passenger cars,” said Stacey Doyle, TrueCar’s senior industry analyst. “With market share for the total segment down by three points this year, it’s not surprising automakers are turning to incentives to move more metal.”
Los Angeles Auto Show Debuts
Several vehicles will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show between November 18-19 and savings can be found on the current-generation models they are replacing. Attractive lease offers are available on Lexus’s LS 460 luxury sedan and JLR’s Range Rover Evoque premium crossover. A concept for the future LS and the all-new Evoque convertible are expected to debut Wednesday.
“Of any automotive brand, Land Rover has the best chance of success with a low volume, niche product like a utility-based crossover,” said Patrick Min, an industry analyst for ALG, a TrueCar company. “The market has not been kind to previous convertible or utility mash-ups, which means there’s always white space in the market for these unique products.”
Mazda will debut its next-generation CX-9 at LAAS. The current generation of the company’s three-row crossover utility is attractively priced this month with 17 percent savings off MSRP.
“Though this model has had a few updates, the current Mazda CX-9 is 10 years old, which is double the typical Japanese vehicle lifecycle,” said Min. “The current CX-9 may be long in the tooth, but sales have held up reasonably well thanks to unique styling and Mazda’s enthusiastic and loyal following.”
Published monthly, the “TrueSavings” report analyzes recent transaction prices and identifies opportunities for consumer savings.
A snapshot of some of the best savings (compared to MSRP) on new vehicles in November 2015 includes:
| Year/Make/
Model/Trim |
Segment | MSRP | Market Average | $ Savings /
% Savings |
Est. Monthly Payment* | City / Hwy / Comb MPG |
| 2015 Ford Taurus, SE FWD | Large Car | $27,930 | $22,729 | $5,201/ 18.6% | $272 | 22/32/26.6 |
| 2015 Ram 1500, SLT, Reg. Cab, 4X2 Std. Bed | Large Truck | $31,480 | $25,980 | $5,500/ 17.5% | $311 | 17/25/20.6 |
| 2015 BMW 3 Series, 328d xDrive Sedan | Luxury Car | $41,995 | $34,961 | $7,034/ 16.7% | $419 | 31/43/36.6 |
| 2015 Mazda CX-9, Sport 2WD | Large Utility | $30,865 | $25,750 | $5,115/ 16.6% | $308 | 17/24/20.2 |
| 2016 Jeep Cherokee, 4WD Latitude | Midsize Utility | $28,190 | $24,633 | $3,557/ 12.6% | $295 | 21/28/24.3 |
