After three months of decline, analysts expect the U.S. new car market to post record sales in November and, possibly, help in overall 2016 deliveries surpassing that of 2015.
According to Autonews, all forecasts project the tally to top the 1.33 million record that was set back in 2001, and the two main factors are big promotions during Thanksgiving, plus two extra selling days compared to last November.
In the first 17 days of the month, the average incentive spending per vehicle was $3,886, up 15 percent compared to last year, says J.D. Power, adding that Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend alone should account of a quarter of total sales volume that month!
The company’s senior vice president and general manager of automotive data Deidre Borrego believes that the election had little to no effect on the market: “While sales volume was suppressed for a short period during the election, the declines were quickly recouped by the end of the election week”, she commented. She, too, noted that the sales rise was “driven in part by elevated incentive levels, which represent a meaningful risk to the long-term health of the auto industry.”
The trend towards SUVs and light trucks continued, with Kelley Blue Book’s Tim Flemming pointed out that they could outsell mid-size passenger cars by 2-to-1.
Almost all automakers are doing great, with GM, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and the VW Group leading the way, while Ford and Toyota will post higher sales, but lower market share. The odd one out is Fiat Chrysler Automotive, which is estimated to post a 14 percent drop, the highest since 2009.
