New Car Prices Remain Relatively Flat Despite Tariffs

The average price for a car increased by 1.5% year over year in July 2025. This reflects the outsized influence of a few larger car sellers: Toyota, Ford and Stellantis have thus far kept price increases low and Tesla has seen its prices plummet for market and other reasons. But, a few companies reported much higher increases including Volkswagen, Mazda, Mercedes and even GM. Ford reported a 5% increase in revenue in the second quarter of 2025 despite holding prices steady but saw its adjusted EBITDA fall by 25%, partly due to $800 million in tariff impacts that it apparently chose to eat. A key question going forward is whether tariffs will eventually force large manufacturers to raise prices.

At some point this has to impact inflation and potentially consumer spending including in the gaming sector. The question is when.