Republican Senator JD Vance blamed Vice President Kamala Harris for auto prices at a rally in Michigan on August 14.

Speaking to a crowd at the Byron Center in Kent County, Vance said, “Thanks to Kamala Harris’ spending policies, the average new car costs nearly $50,000 a year.”

According to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics, the average annual cost of owning and operating a car in 2023 was $12,182 (assuming the owner drives 15,000 miles).

It appears that Vance was referring to the average total cost of a new car, which Statista says will be $47,010 in 2023, up from $38,960 in 2020.

Still, the mistake prompted questions on social media about what kind of cars Vance buys, which cost $50,000 a year to maintain.

Fortune reports that vehicle costs skyrocketed after the pandemic due to a shortage of computer chips needed for production, which affected available supply. Production was further impacted by strikes by the United Auto Workers in 2023.

However, prices appear to be falling again. Kelley Blue Book, an automotive industry research firm owned by Cox Automotive, reports that the average cost in July, which it estimates at $48,401, was lower than the previous year for the tenth month in a row.

They cited “healthy inventory levels” and high loan rates as key factors influencing consumer behavior. The average auto loan rate was 7.2 percent in 2023, the highest since 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration reported in November.

Vance’s reference to auto prices in his speech was likely due to Michigan’s status as the center of the nation’s auto industry. The state is home to 96 of the nation’s top 100 auto parts suppliers, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Voters are generally concerned about the cost of living and inflation, and Republicans are generally credited with handling the economy better than Democrats, so making the increased cost of a major purchase a focus could resonate with voters.

This is not the first time Vance has made a mistake. According to the Georgia Recorder, in 2022 he said in a television ad: “Joe Biden’s open border is killing Ohioans by bringing more illegal drugs and more Democratic voters into this country.”

PolitiFact, a nonprofit website run by the Poynter Institute, fact-checked Vance’s statement and found it to be untrue and false because it assumes that immigrants are allowed to vote upon entry, which is not the case, and that the border between Mexico and the United States is not open.

PolitiFact has verified Vance’s previous statements 13 times.

Newsweek has emailed JD Vance for comment.

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