If you’re looking for an economical car, this may not be the best time to start looking. According to data from the Auto-Retail site, Cargurus.com is disappearing at the fastest time this year for new vehicles priced under $30,000.
“We’ve been steadily decreasing in affordable vehicles over the past few years, but in 2025 the situation has been worsened by the addition of pressure from looming tariffs,” said Kevin Roberts, Director of Economic and Markets Information, Cargurus.
Inflation can share some of the responsibility, but the market for vehicles under $30,000 is shrinking with a quick clip. “On January 1, 2020, the average price of 37.3% on the list of new vehicles was under $30,000,” Roberts said. “By January 1, 2025, its share had fallen to 13.4% and again fell to 12.2% as of mid-June.”
Cargurus lists over 4 million new and used cars on its site. Within these lists, they analyzed new vehicles and placed them in seven categories ranging from under $30,000 to over $80,000.
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It’s not the only factor limiting low-cost cars. Roberts said the industry is still feeling the impact of the 2021 microchip shortage. “When semiconductor supply was tough, automakers prioritized higher profit margin vehicles and trims, and average prices were higher.”
Tariff worries have further strengthened the supply of affordable cars. Roberts said buyers gathered at car dealers in March and early April to focus on the most affordable options as tariffs pushed higher prices.
Which vehicle model is the hardest to find for under $30,000?
“Automobile manufacturers generally continue to create vehicles with current models until the summer closure around July 4th,” Roberts said. “Therefore, the decline in availability of these vehicles is not due to shortages, but to increased consumer demand for affordable vehicles.”
The only outlier is the Chevrolet Malibu. Roberts said Malibu would discontinue production after the current model year of 2025, which resulted in an 80% drop on Cargurus.com.
Used car markets are also seeing prices rise
Over the past year, the number of used Cargurus cars has increased, but prices have also increased. The average price of a used car on the site in mid-June was $28,900. This is an increase of over $8,000 from the average $20,600 in January 2020. With these increases, there is also a trade-off for “many of the vehicles are old and have high mileage.”
The 2021 Microchip Shortage also spread to the second-hand market.
“One trend we are closely tracking is the relative shortage of young used cars,” Roberts said. “These model years: vehicles three years ago are up 5.4% year-on-year, while vehicles at 4 are up 8.0%, while second-hand prices for all other age groups are up just 0.2%.”
Tariffs may affect pricing and incentives for future models
For the rest of the year, Roberts believes that tariffs could affect pricing for the 2026 model year, which will be announced this year. “But I think it’s going to be a lot more meter. While it may not be as low as the increase in MSRP, it could also be caught up in an incentive that reduces costs.”
