KBB Reports October EV Average Down 2.7%; Archived Figures Yield 4.9%

Kelley Blue Book estimates that the average price paid for a new electric vehicle in October 2026 was $56,220, 2.7% lower than a year earlier. But comparing that estimate with the $59,125 October 2025 figure in KBB's original report from last year produces a 4.9% decline instead. The two figures come from different publication vintages and should not be treated as competing measurements of the same revised series.¹²

The difference matters when interpreting claims about EV affordability. The 2.7% is KBB's current year-over-year estimate, published November 10; the 4.9% is arithmetic across the amounts KBB originally published one year apart. The releases reviewed do not specify the exact revised October 2025 EV-price baseline behind the new percentage or explain the difference. That is a limitation on reconstructing the reported change, not evidence that KBB calculated it incorrectly.¹²

What the original monthly reports actually show

Comparison	Earlier original KBB release	October 2026 KBB estimate	Change calculated across releases	Change KBB reports now
October 2025 → October 2026, year over year	$59,125, published Nov. 12, 20252	$56,2201	−$2,905 (−4.91%)	−2.7%1
September 2026 → October 2026, month over month	$55,879, published Oct. 13, 20263	$56,2201	+$341 (+0.61%)	+1%1

These calculations divide the dollar change by the earlier as-published average. They are reproducible comparisons of public report snapshots, not KBB's current, consistently revised month-over-month or year-over-year estimates. The current report rounds its percentage changes; its underlying revised EV comparator dollar amounts are not given in the release text reviewed here.¹³²

There is direct evidence that some historical comparison numbers changed between releases. KBB's October 13 report said the average transaction price across all new vehicles in September was $50,562. Its November 10 report calls the September overall-market value a revised-lower $50,460—a $102 reduction from the earlier published figure.¹³

A second visible revision concerns September EV incentives, which KBB originally reported as 11.0% of EV average transaction price. The new October report describes the September figure as revised higher to 11.2%. That does not establish what revisions, if any, produced the precise 2.7% annual EV-price comparison; the issuer's detailed historical EV baselines and reasons are not established by these three release texts.¹³

What $56,220 does—and doesn't—say about buying an EV

KBB's new $56,220 EV average was $5,111, or about 10.0%, above its $51,109 average for all new vehicles sold in October. The denominator includes EVs. Therefore, the 10% calculation is not an electric-versus-gasoline-only price premium or a comparison of equivalent models and trims.¹

KBB also estimated EV incentives at 11.3% of the EV average transaction price in October, versus 6.8% across the overall new-vehicle market. Those are market-level incentive-spending averages, not evidence that an individual buyer can subtract a flat 11.3% from a quoted vehicle price. KBB describes its average transaction price as a vehicle-price estimate before all available incentives, taxes and fees are incorporated.¹

A previous At The Charger comparison of KBB's August and July releases identified a similar monthly report-vintage issue. October's distinct finding is the new year-over-year discrepancy: the older archived $59,125 can be verified, but it cannot simply be substituted for the undisclosed current-series October 2025 EV baseline without changing the meaning of KBB's latest 2.7% figure.¹²

For the October market trend, 2.7% lower year over year remains KBB's reported current-series estimate. 4.91% describes the change between its original October 2025 and October 2026 published dollar estimates. Neither number is an observed price cut for every EV model, and neither provides the after-incentive, out-the-door price of a particular car.¹²

Sources

Footnotes

1. Kelley Blue Book / Cox Automotive, “Kelley Blue Book Report: Average New-Vehicle Prices Top $51,000, Reach Record High in October”, issuer-authored release distributed by PR Newswire, November 10, 2026, reporting October 2026 proprietary market estimates. Directly opened November 10. Establishes the $56,220 EV figure, current +1%/−2.7%, 11.3% EV incentives, overall $51,109, revised $50,460 September ATP and revised September 11.2% EV incentives; does not disclose all exact historical EV dollar baselines in the release body. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

2. Kelley Blue Book / Cox Automotive, “Kelley Blue Book Report: New-Vehicle Average Transaction Price Declines in October as EV Sales Stall and Incentives Drop”, November 12, 2025, reporting October 2025. Original as-published new-EV average transaction price $59,125; cannot be presumed identical to the revised comparison baseline underlying a November 2026 percentage. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Kelley Blue Book / Cox Automotive, “Kelley Blue Book Report: Average New-Vehicle Transaction Prices Flirt with All-Time High, Despite Trend Toward More Affordable Product”, October 13, 2026, reporting September 2026. Original as-published September EV average $55,879, overall $50,562 and EV incentive share 11.0%; these are not authenticated as the latest historical comparison values. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴