The goal of TrueMPGTM is to measure the actual miles per gallon of all vehicles sold in a given month. Calculations start at the trim level, taking into account EPA fuel economy data that includes engine size and drivetrain factors that affect a vehicle’s MPG ratings. TrueMPGTM aims to illustrate the actual MPG’s of each brand, manufacturer and vehicle segments to give consumers, media, and the industry a better understanding of fuel efficiency. To ascertain TrueMPGTM, TrueCar utilizes the EPA’s average fuel economy rating using 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving behavior. The overall industry MPG is 21.6 for July 2011.
The TrueCar Scorecard measures the overall performance of a brand or manufacturer based on pricing, sales, incentives, customer loyalty, market share, and inventory turn data.
The TrueCar Price Flex Score measures the elasticity of transaction price by model. The Price Flex Score calculation dynamically incorporates the factors that affect price variance including the model’s transaction price range, current inventory and sales data. A vehicle experiencing extremely low inventory and a small range of transaction prices will have a low Price Flex Score. Don’t expect much of a discount from the TrueCar average transaction price on a vehicle with a low Price Flex Score. If a vehicle has a high Price Flex Score, however, you have the potential to strike a deal significantly below (or above, if you’re not careful!) the TrueCar average transaction price.
Featuring the highest discounts on 2011 and 2012 models. 2011 model year Large cars, Large trucks, midsize cars, and luxury cars offer the greatest discounts at an average below MSRP of 7% or higher. The top 2011 makes with the biggest discounts are Chevro- let, Mercedes-Benz, Ram, Chevrolet, and Ford. 2012 brands witht he biggest discounts are Ford, BMW, Kia, Acura, and Infiniti. The overall industry discount is about 7.0%.
This month, the 2011 BMW 7 Series has the largest total incentives with $7,500* (Eco Credit for hybrid version) in customer cash.
Saturday, September 3rd, will be the day consumers can expect the best buys for the month, with a projected discount of 8.22% from MSRP.
For each body type, TrueCar.com tracks the average transaction price for each trim and lists the vehicles with the greatest drop in price month over month. This month’s greatest drop in price is in the luxury car segment, with a $2,985 difference from last month on the 2011 Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
Subcompact cars, sport cars, and luxury sport cars are where the best potential inventory-based discounts will be seen. On average, subcompact cars are staying in inventory for 65 days, while luxury sport cars and sport cars are on-lot for 64 days. The average days in inventory is 51 days. Luxury SUV’s have an average inventory stay of 38 days, Midsize SUV’s at 42 days, Small Cars at 47 days, and Small SUV’s at 47 days.
Model Year Share shows the percentage of 2011 and 2012 model year vehicles that have been sold within the last month. The makes with the highest percentage of 2011 Model Year Share are Subaru, Jaguar, Lexus, Land Rover, and GMC. Model year 2012 vehicles make up 8.9% of the market.
