Valley car dealers see sales gains in July

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

youngstown

Valley auto dealers continued to post sales gains in July, as summer promotions and improved access to credit brought customers to local showrooms.

Year-over-year new- vehicle sales in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties rose for the fifth-consecutive month in July.

Local dealers sold 1,901 new vehicles last month, compared with 1,550 sold in the same month in July 2009.

Dealers also saw monthly sales gains, with July sales topping the 1,815 new units sold in June.

“We just had a great, great month in July,” said Bobby Stackhouse, general manager for Sweeney Chevrolet in Boardman. “The feeling is so much better compared to last year.”

New-car sales were up about 70 percent at Sweeney compared with July 2009, Stackhouse said. The improvement can be attributed to increased lending, easier access to credit and summer incentives, he said.

“The market is coming back, and that is the biggest thing,” he added.

The Chevrolet brand remained popular with Northeast Ohio buyers in July, with four Chevy models leading new-car sales in July.

The Malibu was the top-seller again last month, with 236 new units sold. Local dealers have sold 1,134 new Malibu models this year to date, doubling the 567 sold over the same period last year.

The Lordstown-made Chevy Cobalt followed the Malibu, with 96 new cars sold in July, compared with 57 sold in July 2009. There are fewer than 13,000 Cobalts left in stock as dealers prepare for the September arrival of Lordstown’s Chevy Cruze.

“We are patiently awaiting the arrival of the Cruze,” Stackhouse said, adding that the dealership has had trouble keeping Cobalts on the lot this summer.

Other popular models last month were the Silverado, the Impala and the Ford F-150.

Valley dealerships sold 10,978 cars in the first seven months of 2010, compared with 10,193 sold in the same period last year.