A Third of Middle-Class U.S. Households Plan to Buy Vehicles This Year | Global News Avenue

Drivers are buckling up and preparing to head to the parking lot.

One-third of middle-income households plan to buy a car Financial services firm Santander US surveyed 2,200 U.S. households this year with annual incomes between $50,000 and $148,000, according to an analysis released Thursday.

The automotive industry still has some pent-up demand Affected by the epidemic, manufacturers have stopped production and supply has declined. Fewer rental vehicles turned in Go to a used car lot.

Meanwhile, auto industry software company Cox Automotive said new car prices have begun to level off, but used car prices are not expected to fall in 2025.

Drivers paid an average of $44,636 for a new car in January, down 0.5% from a year earlier, JD Power estimates. Their current average spending on used cars this month is about $27,795, down 1.2% from January last year.

New car spending expected to hit record in January

The car-buying year is expected to get off to a strong start.

“Consumers will spend more on new vehicles in January than any other January in history,” said Thomas King, president of data and analytics. JD Powera consumer intelligence and analytics company. “Retail sales are rising while average transaction prices are down only slightly.”

Santander said more than half (52%) of middle-income households surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2024 had delayed buying a car in the past year due to cost reasons. This figure is up slightly from 50% in the same period a year ago. Santander said.

Many people who were considering whether to buy have already begun to take action. About 65% have started researching options and 46% have visited Distribution rightsSantander said. Santander said whether they buy will be most affected by changes in the economy. cost of living Survey shows whether car prices will fall.

Car sales rebound Helping push U.S. retail sales in November beyond economists’ expectations. Auto sales are traditionally strong in December, with dealers using Incentives JD Power said cleanup will be slower in January. However, the company believes that new car sales this month are expected to increase by 4.8% compared with January 2024.