New vehicle sales locally drop to lowest point

New vehicle sales in the area dropped to their lowest point of the recession last month.

Mahoning Valley dealers sold 972 new vehicles in November, which was down 35 percent from the 1,505 that were sold in November 2008.

Last month’s total was the first time in at least two years that the number had dipped under 1,000.

Earlier comparisons were not available because of a new reporting system that was put in place by the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio in 2006. The figures cover Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

For more information, see Wednesday’s Vindicator or www.vindy.com.