Prices Stall on Nation's Bestselling Cars and Trucks

Prices on the bestselling cars and trucks moderated in August as incentives remained stagnant and a few models began turning over to the 2027 model year. Overall sales in August were resilient with the SAAR (the seasonally adjusted annual rate) hitting its highest number of 2026 at 16.8 million. Many of the bestsellers on our list saw sales gains too.

And while the numbers don’t scream “deal,” the miniscule changes from July could have an outsized impact as so many other items have seen prices spike, especially the price of gasoline.

This is also the fourth month in a row where the bestselling cars transacted above $36,000. It’ll be interesting to see how much havoc the rest of 2026 plays on these prices as the model year turnover season returns.

Most automakers are trying to keep MSRPs in check as they switch assembly lines to build 2027 models. This is despite tariffs remaining largely in effect and new tariffs hitting a major supplier of bestsellers like Canada.

The 2027 Ford Explorer’s MSRP rose 1% for 2027 but there are still approximately four times as many 2026 models on dealers’ lots as of this publication date. In comparison, the Chevy Equinox MSRP rose .6% for 2027 and there are now almost three times as many of the newer models on lots. That’s likely why the Equinox saw its average transaction price increase in August while the Explorer’s fell.

The Results

Bestselling passenger vehicle prices were flat in August. Not even “essentially” flat (they were 0.0%), just $4 less than in July. They were up 1.3% from a year ago but that could be tied to a boost in hybrid sales this summer as gas prices surge over $4 a gallon.

We’ve reported on Toyota transitioning to more expensive hybrid powertrains for both its Camry and RAV4 in previous months. But two other models with hybrid options saw those trims become more popular in August. Honda said its hybrid CR-V saw an 8% sales gain year over year in August. And while it doesn’t break out each hybrid model, Hyundai said overall hybrid sales were up 33% in August. The Tucson crossover (which is a top 10 seller) also had its best sales in history last month.

Surprisingly, while the Toyotas and Honda CR-V saw higher transaction prices versus last year, the Tucson was down 1.8% as its incentives surged 23.2% compared to August 2025.

The bestselling trucks had less variability with all four seeing more incentives compared to last year with all four falling in transaction price compared to July and all but the Ram 1500 seeing a lower price compared to last August.

Discounts

Incentives were definitely a tale of two segments with trucks seeing a large increase in incentive spend versus last year while cars saw discounts move on a more model by model basis.

Bestselling cars saw 10.7% higher incentive spend versus 2025 but a much smaller increase of just 1.2% compared to July. Only two models had higher incentives compared to both last month and last year, the Ford Explorer and Nissan Rogue.

Every truck had higher incentives compared to August 2025 while both the F-150 and GMC Sierra also had more incentives compared to last month. The F-150 though had the smallest incentive spend in August of this year with the Ram 1500 the highest, more than doubling the Ford.

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.