Valley sales of new vehicles up 19%, used cars rise 3%

By Don Shilling

One dealership reported its best sales in six months.

The slowdown of the national economy hasn’t hurt new-vehicle sales in the Mahoning Valley.

The Automobile Dealers Association said Monday that sales at local car dealers rose 19 percent last month.

“We’re still doing well,” said Greg Greenwood, owner of Greenwood Chevrolet Hummer in Austintown and Greenwood’s Hubbard Chevrolet. “We still have reasonably good traffic.”

He noted that a high amount of lease agreements in this area keep customers coming back to dealerships when leases expire.

Of the car deals in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in April, 42 percent were leases. About 43 percent were financed purchases, and 15 percent were cash purchases.

Mike Hudock, general manager of GM Superstore in Salem, said April was the dealership’s best month in the past half year.

“It was a combination of springtime and some good GM incentives,” he said.

He said buyers don’t seem concerned about the economy and only a small number are moving to more fuel efficient cars because of gasoline prices.

The dealers association said local dealers sold 2,683 new vehicles in April, compared with 2,264 in the same month last year.

The Pontiac G6 was the most popular vehicle with 242 sales last month in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. The rest of the Top 5 were the Chevrolet Impala, 139; Chevrolet Trailblazer, 130; Chevrolet Cobalt, 107; Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 87.

For the first four months of this year, new-vehicle sales are up 12 percent at 9,870.

Local dealers sold 4,065 used cars last month, which was up 3 percent from the 3,951 sold in April 2007.

The top used cars last month were the Chevrolet Cavalier, 110; Pontiac Grand Am, 100; Ford F-150, 98; Ford Taurus, 94; and Chevrolet Impala, 89.

For the first four months of this year, used-vehicle sales are down 2 percent at 15,178.

shilling@vindy.com