The average price of a new vehicle in the United States recently reached an all-time high and as it turns out, destination fees have also reached new record heights.

Data uncovered by Edmunds reveals that the average destination fee/charge that automakers tack on to any new vehicle has jumped by 12 percent since the 2017 model year, while Consumer Reports says that across the industry, the amount charged for transportation from factory to dealer has climbed nearly three times the rate of inflation the past decade.

Some brands have increased the fee by more than others. For example, Ford’s destination fees are 29 percent higher than they were in 2017, as are Porsche’s. Additionally, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and Tata have all increased fees by over 20 percent since 2017.

Jeep Tacks On A $2,000 Shipping Charge On Wagoneers

One extreme example is the 2022 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. Both SUVs have a $2,000 destination charge, more than double the $995 fee that Jeep was charging for its vehicles in 2016. Shipping fees add $1,695 to the prices of six full-size light-duty pickup trucks sold in the U.S.

Many car manufacturers refuse to specify how they set destination fees, prompting some consumers to suggest they have been increased to help profits. According to GM, a vehicle’s size factors into shipping fees, noting that “it typically costs less to transport smaller vehicles versus larger vehicles.”

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“The nuance is automakers aren’t supposed to make money on that line item per se; it’s not supposed to be a place for hidden profits,” J.D. Power’s vice president of data and analytics, Tyson Jominy said. “The agreement, at least historically, was you kind of want to get that number as close to breakeven as you can.”

Jeep dealer Steve Wolf told Auto News that while destination fees are generally omitted from advertised prices, they rarely impact a sale.

“Most of the time, they don’t even see it really because it’s embedded in the invoice,” Wolf said. “It adds to the cost of the vehicle, but in my experience, it’s very rarely an issue.”

Interestingly, not all brands have increased shipping fees in recent years. In fact, BMW’s fees have remained stable at $995 for many years and haven’t even tracked the rate of inflation. Automakers including Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo, have largely tracked the rate of inflation with their increases.