Here's How Automakers are Raising New-Car Prices Without Changing the MSRP

So now we have carmakers jacking up prices of new cars in ways that can only be termed egregious. This might come across as surprising, but OEMs are increasing the destination and delivery charges, inflating the actual window sticker, otherwise called the vehicle’s sticker price or its MSRP. The information comes courtesy of the Detroit Free Press, stating that Chevrolet, Ford and Ram have all increased their destination charge from $1,995 last year to $2,595 for most of their 2025 and 2026 lineup.

Apparently, hiking the destination charge instead of the MSRP means the dealer shoulders the brunt of the tariff load more than the automaker. We are in a time when volatility and uncertainty are at their peak. You have fears of a recession looming and a potential AI bubble, with tech companies burning through cash like dry leaves in a wildfire. Think about fuel prices and living costs—everything has been going bananas for the last year or so. On top of all that, you have carmakers finding devious ways to squeeze more money from your wallet.

Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry, was reported saying, "They are hiding some of the tariff costs in the destination charge, because you can’t opt out of the delivery charge even if you live next to the factory and pick your vehicle at the gate.” Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, told the Detroit Free Press that, "I have seen those destination fee increases that are out of the norm versus the typical annual adjustments. Almost everyone is guilty in part on some level because of tariff/inflation and hedging their bets.”

According to Edmunds, a 2023 Ford F-150 carried a destination charge of $1,795, which rose to $1,995 for MY24 and $2,595 for MY25. A similar trend can be seen with the Chevy Silverado 1500, as MY23 saw a destination charge of $1,895, which became $1,995 for MY24 and $2,195 for MY25. Drury also went on to say that the Detroit giants were the ones increasing the most among mass market automakers, with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen having the lowest destination charges across the industry.

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