Edmunds

Edmunds is a Santa Monica-based automotive information company whose pricing datasets and industry data are widely used benchmarks in the United States car market. Founded in 1966 as a publisher of printed car-buying booklets by Ludwig Arons, the company launched Edmunds.com in 1995 and introduced its True Market Value (TMV) transaction-price tools in 2000^[1].

Since 2021 Edmunds has been a wholly owned subsidiary of used-car retailer CarMax, which acquired the remaining shares at an enterprise value of 404 million dollars after initially taking a minority stake^[1]. Its Industry Center publishes sales, market-share, forecasting, and consumer-demand datasets drawn from the company's shopping and pricing activity^[2].

What It Does

Edmunds operates a consumer automotive research platform covering new and used vehicle prices, dealer and inventory listings, incentive and rebate databases, and expert reviews based on testing at the company's private facility^[1].

The underlying data has a second life as industry intelligence: through its Industry Center, Edmunds publishes analysis and datasets on the U.S. auto market for media and industry audiences^[2].

Data And Methodology

The company's signature methodology is True Market Value: introduced in 2000, TMV analyzes multiple factors to estimate the average transaction price consumers actually pay for new vehicles, while the TMV Used Vehicle Appraiser estimates real transaction prices for used vehicles bought and sold by dealers and private parties^[1].

Complementary tools include True Cost to Own, a total-cost-of-ownership estimate, and a Monthly Fuel Cost metric computed assuming 1,250 miles driven per month against national-average fuel prices^[1][2].

Products And Data

The Industry Center Data Center has included monthly U.S. auto industry sales and sales-by-make tables, manufacturer market share, an Edmunds sales forecast, days-to-turn inventory metrics, consumer vehicle consideration and purchase-intent series, NHTSA complaint activity reports, recall data, and quarterly and annual used-car market reports^[2].

Consumer-facing products include appraisal and price-promise tools connecting shoppers to dealers; in 2020 Edmunds launched a partnership with CarMax allowing drivers to receive no-obligation cash offers for their vehicles^[1][2].

Buyers And Use Cases

Edmunds pricing data is used by consumers negotiating purchases, dealers, and automotive industry analysts; the company's TMV figures are frequently cited in press coverage of new- and used-vehicle pricing trends^[1].

History

Founded in 1966 as Edmunds Publications, the firm consolidated automotive specifications into printed booklets before moving to CD-ROMs and books in the 1990s and launching its website in 1995^[1]. Peter Steinlauf purchased the company in 1988, and his family held majority ownership until CarMax's full acquisition in 2021; Avi Steinlauf serves as chief executive^[1]. The company rebranded, dropping .com from its name, in 2017^[1].