October Auto Sales Strongest Month Since February

[LS2JSTS]

Pent up demand drives October auto sales

"Americans bought new vehicles at the strongest pace since February, as moderating gas prices and the need to replace aging wheels pushed consumers to make purchases they have long deferred.

"Our dealers say consumers are coming in with the oldest and highest mileage trades they've seen in many years," said Ken Czubay, Ford's U.S. marketing vice president.

Industry sales ran at an annual rate of 13.26 million in October, the strongest pace since February's 13.29 million.

"Chrysler, with a 27% sales gain, posted among the strongest year-over-year gains for October, along with Volkswagen, Hyundai and Nissan. General Motors' 1.8% increase fell below most forecasts, largely because GM relied less on sales to fleet customers. Ford's sales rose 6.2% as Ford Explorer sales more than tripled."

"Toyota and Honda reported sales that were 7.9% and 0.5% below a year earlier, respectively. Both have replenished inventories depleted by disruptions caused by last March's earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan."

"But Toyota and Honda already are facing a new round of production cuts caused by shortages of electrical parts made in Thailand, where an unusually heavy monsoon season triggered flooding that has shut down manufacturing throughout the country. Marketing executives at GM and Ford said they depend on Thailand-sourced parts for vehicles assembled in Asia and elsewhere, but so far their North American factories have not been affected."

 

[chubbs1]

There have been some really good deals out there to make way for the 2012's. It is good to hear people are able to spend some money.

 

[Nick R]

Good news, Good news that GM is relying less on fleet sales, I wish we could get the fleet sale numbers for everbody else as well.

Nice to see Chryslers sales continuing to skyrocket.


My thoughts on Toyota and Honda sales. I think there are a few things affecting this. 1. The lack of inventory means that people have not been going into those dealerships for months, pushing them to other makes who did have inventory.
Also, the fact that production was shut down on even the US Based lines for Toyota and Honda, but not for anybody else, apart from some paint, has made people realize that maybe Toyota and Hondas "built in USA" weren't quite as "built in USA" as they thought.

 

[Hallmark]

Hyundai sold 52,402 cars in the U.S. in October. Elantra sales were up 36.9% and the hot, new Veloster is moving fast at 3,724 sales. The latter number would be higher if more vehicles were available at dealers. Folks on the Veloster forums are frustrated at the lack of regional availability...some are paying $700 or more to have them shipped interstate.

 

[KrisZ]

Looks like easy credit is back again.

Good news for auto industry though.

 

[Win]

Do they break out the average unit cost of the vehicles? Are consumers buying cars the manufacturers can make some money on, or are they econoboxes?

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Win

Do they break out the average unit cost of the vehicles? Are consumers buying cars the manufacturers can make some money on, or are they econoboxes?




Interestingly, automakers are able to make a profit on econo-boxes these days. Maybe not as much as a big SUV or pickup, but a profit nonetheless.

 

[urchin]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Looks like easy credit is back again.

Good news for auto industry though.


This isn't good for ANYONE in the long run because we are just going to see another cycle of boom and bust again soon.

Considering how many people are unemployed or underemployed I really can't figure out how these people are getting credit. The parameters are much harder than they were just several years ago.

Me thinks they are "cooking" the books...again.

 

[sciphi]

Folks are getting ready for winter up here. Some of that includes getting a new car instead of tossing money at an older one. A set of tires along with a brake job and maybe a worn bushing can easily run $2000 at a chain garage. So instead of taking the hit and still having a problematic car, they're trading the car off as down payment on a new one with fresh tires and brakes. Up here, cars only last about 10 years before major corrosion-related issues start to occur. It's been about 8-10 years for a lot of folks in my neck of the woods, and their cars are shot. Time for a new one for many folks.

While most folks don't have a large savings, they do manage to pay their bills on time each month. That's good enough for most lenders to lend.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Looks like easy credit is back again.


Hmmm...really? On what information do you base this hunch of yours?

The reality is that both GM and Ford are writing loans for "sub prime" borrowers at a rate well below the industry standard. Toyota and Honda typically keep the cheaper paper rates at a level somewhere under 20% of total loans.

 

[LS2JSTS]

Originally Posted By: urchin


Me thinks they are "cooking" the books...again.


Do you have even a sliver of evidence to back up this silly assertion?

Are you saying that ALL of the manufacturers got together and agreed to boost their sales numbers for some odd reason, or was it just a few of them...lol. You do realize that every one of these sales is also registered with the states in which the sale occured right? And for what purpose would this fraud be perpetrated, whats the end game to inflate verifiable sales figures?

That tin hat suits you.

 

[sciphi]

This is simply car replacement, not splurging on a new car. Folks are holding onto their cars longer. Eventually, enough wears out to where getting a new car is better financially than pouring a few thousand into their current car.

At least around here, most of the cars were purchased new in the early to mid 2000's, before times really got bad. Thanks to the recession, those cars aged hard as maintenance was deferred while more miles were racked up. Now, they're simply worn out.

More folks are looking at their cars, getting an estimate from their mechanic, and deciding that it's better to get a new one rather than pour $1500-2000 into an 8-10 year old hoopty that needs that work to pass inspection. If the car has corrosion issues on top of any mechanical issues, like many 8-10 year old cars do up here, it's time for a new one. There's no point in spending lots of money on an old, corroded-out car when it's headed to the junkyard in a year or two thanks to said corrosion.

That's what's happening. Nothing magical, only updating the family truckster.

 

[urchin]

Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
Originally Posted By: urchin


Me thinks they are "cooking" the books...again.


Do you have even a sliver of evidence to back up this silly assertion?

Are you saying that ALL of the manufacturers got together and agreed to boost their sales numbers for some odd reason, or was it just a few of them...lol. You do realize that every one of these sales is also registered with the states in which the sale occured right? And for what purpose would this fraud be perpetrated, whats the end game to inflate verifiable sales figures?





FYI...when I used to work at a very large Honda store...I know for a fact (I actually reported them to AHM) that this dealer was registering the vehicles as sold to employees at the dealership and other unsuspecting customers that already owned a Honda but had not bought a new one in some time. This was done so that they could get bigger allocations than they actually deserved....It was quite a scandal.

Cooking the books....making the numbers say whatever they'd like them to say is nothing new and as long as greedy banks/ business is around (and gov't too) this will happen.

The tin foil hat is a badge of honor when living in such a corrupt world.

 

[LS2JSTS]

That dealer may have been pulling a scam with American Honda Motor, but in no way were they registering those sales with the State. Legally, those would instantly all become used cars. Apples and oranges...

These numbers are sold sales that are easily verified. In your dealership instance they are fudging the numbers so they can get a bigger allotment. So what in the world is the motivation for the manufacturers to fudge sales/manufactured numbers UP?...it just doesn't make sense. If the manufacturers are indeed doing as you imply, they are "cooking the books" in the wrong direction...lol.

A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing I agree. But looking for conspiracy around every corner is a waste of time. As is spouting the same tired anti business cliches...

Signed,
Greedy Business Owner

 

[urchin]

Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing I agree. But looking for conspiracy around every corner is a waste of time. As is spouting the same tired anti business cliches...

Signed,
Greedy Business Owner


Well I'm in good company because one of our Founding Fathers, George Washington said that conspiracies happen ALL THE TIME.

I'm not anti BUSINESS... I AM anti corruption.

 

[LS2JSTS]

It's a pretty simple question...whats the motivation for the manufacturers to fudge the sales numbers UP?

I don't need or want mangled/out of context presidential quotes...just some reason or proof to back up your original silly comment that these numbers are fudged.

 

[urchin]

Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
It's a pretty simple question...whats the motivation for the manufacturers to fudge the sales numbers UP?

I don't need or want mangled/out of context presidential quotes...just some reason or proof to back up your original silly comment that these numbers are fudged.


How about increased share prices? Hmm.

 

[sciphi]

It's the same reason that folks are replacing other wearable items. They've put it off for so long that now they are forced to replace. It's the same reason I have a new car in the driveway. My old car simply gave up the ghost.

 

[urchin]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
It's the same reason that folks are replacing other wearable items. They've put it off for so long that now they are forced to replace. It's the same reason I have a new car in the driveway. My old car simply gave up the ghost.


Luckily you can afford that brand new vehicle...considering the shambles and recession the economy is STILL in (in reality, not according to smoke and mirrors that DoL, Fed, ect try and [censored] us with) and the fact that credit is now much harder to come by it is a miracle that they are going to sell 13 million cars this year. I'm very suspicious of the numbers, just as we all should be about the business and financial world.

 

[mechanicx]

I'm not saying the sales are all legit or not but I can believe they would could sell that many cars. As bad as the economy is there are still a few haves and middle class left. 13 million cars is not so many when consider probably at least 3 times as many as that wished they could afford to buy a new car to replace their aging one. I know a lot more people driving cars that are past their prime than I do driving new or newer model.