00:00It's Benzinga, bringing Wall Street to Main Street.
00:02The U.S. auto industry is confronting an affordability challenge,
00:06according to JD Power data reviewed by Reuters.
00:09Automakers are prioritizing larger and more expensive vehicles
00:12while offering fewer budget models,
00:14pushing the average new vehicle price to about $47,000.
00:18The average transaction price rose 40% from December 2018 through last year to about $47,000.
00:25Buyers are increasingly choosing trucks, SUVs, and higher trim vehicles,
00:30and the shift has changed the demographics of new car buyers.
00:33Households earning $100,000 or less accounted for 36% of purchases last year,
00:39down from about 50% to 60% earlier in the decade, according to S&P Global Mobility.
00:45Automakers expanded higher margin trucks and SUVs while phasing out many entry-level models.
00:51Executives say affordability has become a political issue
00:54as Trump and lawmakers debate regulations and tariffs.
00:57For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.
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