Edmunds.com noted today that October may officially be the turning point for the automotive model year.

In October, 2012 model year vehicles made up 52.3 percent of new car sales; in September the figure was only 35 percent. Chrysler and Honda were among the brands that practically doubled their 2012 sales penetration from September levels, while Toyota more than tripled its 2012 share this month.

As a result, average industry incentive spending decreased in October, since the newer model year vehicles are hardly discounted compared to the 2011 models.

On average, automakers spent an average of $2,158 on vehicle incentives per vehicle sold in October, said Edmunds.com, down 12.1 percent from September and down 11.5 percent from October 2010.

Edmunds.com analysts determined that 2011 model year incentives are essentially flat from September, while 2012 model year incentives climbed a slight five percent.

Average True Cost of Incentivessm (TCIsm) by Car Manufacturer
Manufacturer Oct-11 Sep-11 Oct-10 Oct 2011 vs. Sep 2011 Oct 2011 vs. Oct 2010
Chrysler $2,651 $2,891 $2,880 -8.3% -8.0%
Ford $2,728 $2,879 $3,135 -5.2% -13.0%
GM $3,024 $3,312 $3,215 -8.7% -5.9%
Honda $1,260 $1,791 $1,402 -29.6% -10.1%
Nissan $2,355 $2,494 $2,213 -5.6% 6.4%
Toyota $1,602 $2,019 $2,066 -20.7% -22.5%
Industry $2,158 $2,456 $2,439 -12.1% -11.5%