Hybrids Keep Popular Car Prices Higher

Sales in June were robust and nearly all of the most popular vehicles we track experienced gains in terms of their total tallies versus last year. That’s good news for automakers and dealers but overall transaction prices continue to rise year over year and, in some cases, versus last month as well.

The primary driver is the increased mix of hybrid models in the sales total whether that’s as part of a model lineup with the Honda CR-V (which became the bestselling vehicle in the country in June, beating out the Ford F-150 and Toyota RAV4) or with the standard powertrain like the Toyota Camry.

However, the bulk of the increases for passenger vehicles compared to last year was carried by just one model, the Toyota RAV4. It helped push the average transaction price to a new record of $36,218, up nearly $700 from last year and topping $36,000 for the second straight month.

The Results

Last month we explained how the redesigned Toyota RAV4 — it too now hybrid only — had much higher transaction prices than the previous model last year. The same was true in June with prices still up 24% versus 2025. However, prices did dip slightly, very slightly, from May, .4% or $157. But the $42,107 average is still likely causing sticker shock to loyal RAV4 owners looking to upgrade.

Every other Toyota on the list saw much smaller gains from last year and similarly small drops versus last month. The only models to see transaction prices rise versus May were the Honda Civic, Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Rogue (which doesn’t include a hybrid variant).

On the truck side, the four bestselling light-duty trucks all saw higher transaction prices versus last year with the RAM 1500 leading the pack. However, only the GM pair, the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra rose versus last month.

Discounts

Most of the bestselling vehicles on the Affordability Tracker are there because of high demand and that means automakers don’t see the need to add heavy incentives. All four Toyota models had between $102 and $217 in incentives — paltry sums.

The Honda CR-V with its June sales crown had significantly lower incentives than in May, down 14%, but the $698 discount was 77% higher than in June 2025. That’s still more than a third less than the Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Rogue had on their hoods.

In June, only the Ford F-150 had more incentives on it than the month before. The Silverado and Sierra saw reductions in incentive spending despite the recent announcement of a new, redesigned Silverado, which should hit dealers at the end of the year.

How It Works

CDK selected the top 10 bestselling passenger vehicles* of 2025 sold at franchised dealerships (so no Tesla Model Y) according to automaker end-of-year Sales results. Each month we take the average Sale price and then subtract the average incentive amount (both dealer and automaker incentives) for the month and that leads to the average price paid, or transaction price, before taxes. All three are listed in our graphics.

The top 10 bestsellers in 2025 were:

1. Toyota RAV4 
2. Honda CR-V 
3. Toyota Camry 
4. Toyota Tacoma* 
5. Chevy Equinox 
6. Toyota Corolla 
7. Honda Civic 
8. Hyundai Tucson 
9. Ford Explorer 
10. Nissan Rogue

We’ve also taken the top four bestselling light-duty pickup trucks in the country to show the difference in one of the most popular segments and one that customers generally don’t cross-shop with passenger vehicles. These include:

• Ford F-150
• Chevrolet Silverado
• GMC Sierra
• Ram 1500

There are over 250 distinct models for sale in the U.S. These 14** made up 26% of all cars sold in the U.S. in 2025.

*While the Tacoma is a truck, because of its massive popularity, it seemed appropriate to include it as consumer trends are skewing toward rugged options across the board.

**Passenger cars listed included their hybrid counterparts, some sport trims, etc. Trucks were done similarly. Only electric versions were excluded. For example, the Chevy Equinox EV and the Ford F-150 Lightning aren’t included. But Toyota Corolla Hybrids and Ford F-150 Raptors are included.