New vehicles are still rolling out of showrooms at a healthy clip, but the customers signing the paperwork are increasingly clustered at the top of the income ladder. As prices and borrowing costs climb, wealthy households are not just weathering the shift, they are effectively setting the pace of the market while many middle and lower income buyers sit on the sidelines. The result is a car economy that looks more like the broader consumer landscape, where spending power is concentrating among those with the most financial cushion.
The income split behind “strong” car sales
Headline sales figures suggest the auto industry is holding up, yet the composition of those sales reveals a stark divide. Analysts tracking the market report that new-car purchases have surged among high earners, even as overall affordability has deteriorated and entry-level options have thinned out. In effect, the appearance of resilience in auto demand is being propped up by a relatively small slice of affluent households who can absorb higher monthly payments and larger down payments without upending their budgets.
Data compiled by Jan show that Wealthier Households Are Driving Car Sales, with buyers at the top of the income distribution accounting for a disproportionate share of new-vehicle transactions while models with a sub-$20,000 price tag have become scarce. Separate research from New indicates that new-car sales have soared 45% among households earning $150,000 or more since 2019, according to Cox, even as incentives have faded and dealers have been less willing to offer rebates or negotiate on prices. That same analysis finds that sales have plunged for lower income brackets, underscoring how uneven the recovery in auto demand has become.
Middle-class buyers retreat as prices and rates bite
For many middle-class families, the new-car market has simply moved out of reach. Sticker prices that once hovered in the low $30,000s for popular sedans and crossovers are now far higher, and the financing environment has turned more punishing as interest rates climbed. Households that might have traded in a five- or six-year-old vehicle in the past are instead stretching ownership longer, patching together repairs and delaying big-ticket purchases until conditions improve.
New reports show that new-car sales have soared 45% among high-income households since 2019 but plunged 30% for those earning less than $75,000 annually, a gap that highlights how sensitive mainstream buyers are to monthly payment shocks. At the same time, the average price of a new vehicle is just off a record high of more than $50,000, a level that makes it difficult for buyers with modest incomes to qualify for loans without stretching terms to seven or even eight years. Forecasts for the year ahead reflect that strain, with Jan projections that new vehicle sales will decline moderately in 2026 as While affordability issues weigh on demand and consumer perception becomes critical across the market.
Luxury and six-figure models pull away from the pack
At the top of the market, the story looks very different. Buyers with ample savings and investment income are still ordering high-end SUVs, performance cars and electric flagships, often with price tags well into six figures. For these customers, vehicles are less a basic necessity and more a core part of their lifestyle, a category where they are willing to keep spending even as other consumers cut back.
Data on new vehicles show that while mainstream models are under pressure, six-figure car sales keep climbing as wealthy buyers refuse to slow down, with Data indicating that the high end is pulling away from the rest of the car market. That divergence is visible in dealership lots, where allocations of luxury brands and fully loaded trims remain tight even as more affordable models sit longer. It is also evident in transaction data that show affluent buyers paying close to full sticker price, a dynamic that helps keep average prices elevated for the entire industry.
Affordability shock and the aging national fleet
The squeeze on typical buyers is showing up not only in sales figures but also in the age of vehicles on the road. As new models become harder to afford, owners are hanging on to their existing cars longer, even when that means higher maintenance costs and more frequent repairs. This trend has implications for safety, emissions and the repair industry, which is seeing more demand for complex work on older vehicles.
Researchers report that the average age of vehicles on U.S. roads reached 12.8 years in 2025, a record high according to S&P Global, even as new car sales are rising thanks to purchases by the well-off. That aging fleet reflects how many households are being priced out of the new-car market entirely. Analysts warn that the momentum in auto sales could be difficult to maintain in 2026 as tariffs and other costs put upward pressure on pricing and However affordability concerns mount, with cost of ownership, including insurance and maintenance, increasingly driving concern in buying decisions.
Policy shocks, housing parallels and the broader wealth effect
Policy decisions have added another layer of complexity to the market, but here again, wealthier buyers have been better positioned to adapt. When President Trump announced tariffs that threatened to disrupt the auto supply chain, there were fears that higher import costs would choke off demand across the board. Instead, new cars kept selling in 2025, just not to everyday buyers, as affluent customers absorbed higher prices while others delayed purchases or shifted to used vehicles, a pattern captured in reports that cars kept selling in 2025 even as tariffs loomed.
The skew toward higher income buyers in autos mirrors what is happening in housing and retail. At the start of 2026, the U.S. housing market remained firmly tilted toward buyers, with At the same time, those able to qualify for mortgages and pay elevated prices are often the same households driving new-car demand. That trend, documented by Federal Reserve research, shows wealthier Americans driving retail spending and powering U.S. growth, a shift from the pre-pandemic period when consumption was more broadly distributed. In autos, that means the industry’s fortunes are increasingly tied to a relatively narrow band of prosperous buyers, leaving manufacturers and policymakers to grapple with what happens if that group finally decides to tap the brakes.
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