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Car sales up for month, year
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
New and used-car sales were up 6.6 percent from last October and nearly 5 percent for the year.
Greenwood Chevrolet was once again the top dealer in the Mahoning Valley for new and used cars for October with 273 cars sold, according to numbers released by the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio.
Sweeney Buick GMC came in second with 214 cars sold and was up 39 percent from last October’s sales.
Taylor Kia was third with 207 sold in October.
Greg Greenwood, owner of Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown, said the Chevrolet Cruze and Silverado are both top sellers.
He said 2014 Cruzes “are doing fantastic for us because there was a late announcement on the 2015s. GM is still supporting us to with great pricing and great leasing deals.”
While Greenwood was up in new-car sales from last year with 140 sold compared with 132 last year, the dealership was down in used-car sales by 23 in October.
Sweeney Buick GMC came in second for new-car sales with 138 sold, and Sweeney Chevrolet came in third with 121 sold last month.
The Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze was the top seller in October for new vehicles with 177 sold last month compared with 153 in October 2013. The Cruze has sold better this year than last with 2,163 sold so far this year compared with 1,438 last year — an increase of 725.
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 came in second for the new-car sales with 156 sold last month compared with 58 in October 2013 and the Ford F-150 came in third for top-selling new cars with 82 sold last month.
Tom Brittain of Brittain Motors in East Palestine said his October sales, especially on the Silverado, Equinox and Cruze, were good.
The ADAEO data show Brittain Motors down for October sales, but up by 7.4 percent for the year.
“I don’t think it was quite as active as September was,” he said. “We have a lot of truck buyers. That is usually 50 percent of my market.”
Outside of the local GM dealers, Cortland Ford dealer Mark Thomas Ford sales are also up for the year by 14.6 percent.
In October, the dealership was up by 26.1 percent with 18 more vehicles sold last month compared to last October.
“F-150 does a great job for us,” said Steve Bott, sales manager. “We have good programs, and we have a good product. If people haven’t driven a Ford lately, then they should.”