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How pandemic car shortages are still making new and used cars expensive

Cnbc · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 721 words · By Robert Ferris
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What to know about How pandemic car shortages are still making new and used cars expensive

The shockwaves of the Covid-19 pandemic are still hitting the U.S.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center88%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The shockwaves of the Covid-19 pandemic are still hitting the U.S.

Why it matters

car market and pushing prices up, even for exceptionally old cars.

Common ground

The pandemic dealt a severe blow to the total supply of new cars, which has rippled down to the used market.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/10/car-prices-shortages.html

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
check_circle Corroborated 1
info
Claim 1: “Incentives — essentially discounts on new cars — averaged about 9.5% of vehicle prices across the new car market before the pandemic, according to Cox Automotive.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions Cox Automotive in the context of inventory levels (3 million cars), but does not mention the specific 9.5% incentive average before the pandemic.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — There are roughly 333.3 million people in the United States right now. That’s an estimate, but it’s a good number for us because there are approximately 3 million new cars in the inventory of car deal…
https://www.theautopian.com/new-car-incentives-up-almost-50-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Topics:new-vehicle financing incentives new-vehicle prices Sales.Affordable New Cars a Thing of the Past. More than one out of five new vehicles sell for more than $60,000, according to Edmunds. That'…
https://www.agent-entrepreneur.com/news/new-cars-a-tad-more-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — New-vehicle inventory levels are improving, but prices remain elevated. According to data released Dec.
https://www.autobodynews.com/news/as-luxury-share-grows-new-…
info
Claim 2: “They've climbed back up, averaging about 6.5% to 7% in 2026, Cox's Robb said.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results for 2026 are unrelated to car incentives, focusing instead on Formula 1 and other events. No evidence for the 6.5% to 7% incentive claim was found.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Хорошее качество видео без регистрации в бесплатном видеокаталоге ВКонтакте. Опубликовано 25 мая 2026. 26790 — просмотрели, 165 — оценили.
https://vk.com/video-230001896_456239151
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Searches like Indo Viral rain room and Yandex Indo quiet story reflected this quiet bond between place and feeling.
https://gelorahening.store/indo-abg-viral-ketika-obsidian-be…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Опубликовано 9 июля 2026. 19992 — просмотрели, 485 — оценили.Прямая трансляция на русском языке в отличном качестве. Прямой эфир бесплатно без регистрации в ВК Видео. Смотреть онлайн 09.07.2026 года в…
https://vkvideo.ru/video1122391515_456239017
info
Claim 3: “About 8 million vehicles that would have been made for U.S. buyers during those years never were, largely due to production shutdowns and supply shortages”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this claim are generic definitions of 'production' from Wikipedia and Merriam-Webster and do not contain any data regarding vehicle production shortages or the 8 million figure.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The most important forms of production include market production, public production and household production. In order to understand the origin of economic well-being, we must understand these three p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_(economics)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Arts, entertainment, and media Production, the act or role of assembling, crafting, creating, or presenting, a work of art, or the work of art itself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago · The meaning of PRODUCTION is something produced : product. How to use production in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/production
help
Claim 4: “Data from Cox Automotive shows that demand for even 9- and 10-year-old used vehicles is much higher than it has historically been.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found for this claim.
verified
Claim 5: “record 17.55 million vehicles sold in 2016”
VERIFIED
A web search result from 'The Week' specifically reports that aggressive dealmaking helped lift total sales to a record 17.55 million cars and light trucks in 2016.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Georgia ( JOR-jə) is a state in the Southeastern, South Atlantic, and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the northwest, North Carolina and South Carolina to the northeas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geog…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 6: “In 2022, it hit a low of 18%.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm that leasing hit a low of 18% in 2022, including a report citing 'Robb', Edmunda data, and Credit Union Leasing of America.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — New or NEW may refer to: Novelty, the quality of being new
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — New York, also called New York State, is a state located in the northeastern United States. Bordering New England to its east, Canada to its north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to its south, it ext…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(state)
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It comprises two main landmasses—the North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and the South Island (Te Waipounamu)—and over 700 smaller islands.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 7: “Prior to the pandemic, leasing was roughly 30% of the new vehicle market”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Three independent sources (Reuters, Yahoo Finance UK, and Jalopnik) all state that prior to the pandemic, leasing accounted for approximately 30% of the new vehicle market, citing JD Power or general research.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Before is the opposite of after, and may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Before Sunrise is a 1995 romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater and co-written by Linklater and Kim Krizan, and is the first installment in the Before trilogy. In the film, Jesse (Ethan Haw…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_Sunrise
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Before Trilogy consists of three romance films directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Beginning with Before Sunrise (1995), and continuing with two sequels, Befor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_trilogy
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 8: “About 16.2 million cars were sold in 2025, up from the pandemic-era low of 13.8 million in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the evidence mentions the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and a date in 2025 regarding direct investment abroad, there is no evidence provided that confirms car sales figures for 2025 or 2022.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of U.S. states and territories by gross domestic product (GDP). This article presents the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia and their nominal GDP at current prices. The data s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This has lists of U.S. states, territories, and Washington, D.C. by income. Data is from various sources, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the yearly American Community Survey (ACS). Data is…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — US economic performance has consistently varied by the political party of the US President. According to many economic metrics (including job creation, GDP growth, stock market returns, personal incom…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._economic_performance_by_p…
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 9: “The average new vehicle household income is over $150,000 a year versus about $80,000 for the U.S. economy as a whole.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found for this claim.
verified
Claim 10: “the U.S. auto industry has sold roughly 16 million fewer vehicles than it would have if annual sales had held at the 2016 record of 17.5 million”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists of irrelevant Wikipedia entries for the letter 'U', the 2016 election, and U.S. Route 16. No data regarding the 16 million vehicle deficit was found.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States_presidentia…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On January 12, 2016, two United States Navy riverine command boats were seized by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy after they entered Iranian territorial waters near Iran's Farsi I…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_United_States–Iran_naval_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — U.S. Highway 16 (US 16) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway between Rapid City, South Dakota, and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The highway's eastern terminus is at a junction with …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_16
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.