--- title: A New Car for Under $20,000? That's So 2025 description: New car prices hit a record January high, and the last under-$20,000 models have vanished from dealer lots. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 500 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2026-02-19T13:30:09.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 409 canonical: https://money.com/new-car-prices-2026/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Three cars on a dollar bill](https://img.money.com/2026/02/News-No-20k-Cars-Affordable.jpg) As the economy car market shrinks, it’s becoming impossible to find a new vehicle for less than $20,000. In January, the average sales price of a new car was more than double that: $49,191, according to the latest [transaction data](https://www.coxautoinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/January-2026-Kelley-Blue-Book-Average-Transaction-Price-tables.pdf) from Cox Automotive, the publisher of the Kelley Blue Book report. Average new car prices last month were higher than any January on record, the auto group said. “We hit a new January high even as prices naturally pulled back from December’s luxury-heavy finish,” Erin Keating, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive, said in a [news release](https://www.coxautoinc.com/insights-hub/jan-2026-atp-report/). Average car prices tend to spike in December, led by year-end sales of luxury cars, which result in pushing up the average. Usually, at the start of the year, prices retreat following [the holiday buzz](https://money.com/best-december-car-deals/), although they remain uncomfortably close to the $50,000 mark. A lot of what’s pushing prices up, Keating noted, is the types of cars people are buying: [larger and more luxurious models](https://money.com/fewer-cars-more-suvs-trucks-trend/). She said there are still “plenty of options” for sale at lower-than-average prices. ## Where are the affordable vehicles? As manufacturers — and drivers — switch to large, luxury vehicles, budget-friendly models start to disappear. “The U.S. market no longer has a new vehicle with an average \[retail price\] below $20,000,” the Cox report said. For a while, the [Mitsubishi Mirage was holding the line](https://money.com/new-cars-under-20k-extinct/). A no-frills subcompact car, the Mirage was the cheapest new vehicle on the market, with an average price of about $19,000. Mitsubishi discontinued the model in 2024, and the last batch of new models was largely sold out by last summer. The Nissan Versa then took up the mantle as the most affordable new car, with a sales price right around $20,000. But the run was short-lived. Nissan ended production of the Versa in December. Mitsubishi and Nissan remain the most affordable carmakers, with average sale prices across all models at $31,600 and $34,700, respectively, according to Cox data. But without the Mirage or Versa, what's left? According to prices from [Cars.com](http://cars.com), there are several new models of sedans and SUVs starting at $25,000 or less. | | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | 2026 Hyundai Venue SE | $22,150 | SUV | | 2026 Chevrolet Trax LS | $23,495 | SUV | | 2026 Kia K4 LX | $23,535 | Compact sedan or hatchback | | 2026 Nissan Sentra S | $23,845 | Compact sedan | | 2026 Hyundai Elantra SE | $23,870 | Sedan | | 2026 Toyota Corolla LE | $24,120 | Compact sedan | _*Adam Hardy for Money.com; Cars.com*_ A few other models barely miss that cut-off**,** including the Volkswagen Jetta S ($25,270), the Mazda3 2.5S ($25,785), the Honda Civic LX ($25,890) and the Buick Envista Preferred ($26,495). ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/29780/medium_e439fd1c-3ee2-41b2-bccf-5dfe3c4d8add.png) Protect your vehicle with affordable Car Insurance. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/b046d48341c1?ap_referrer=%2Fnew-car-prices-2026%2F&apxa1=hidden-costs-of-buying-car) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/new-car-prices-2026/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Auto Industry", "item": "https://money.com/auto-industry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A New Car for Under $20,000? 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