Local auto dealers upbeat about February sales

YOUNGSTOWN

February’s frigid temperatures and snowfall kept many potential car buyers in the Mahoning Valley home, but that doesn’t stop area dealers from staying positive.

“We have a lot of positive news down the road,” said Nick Siciliano, general manager for The Honda Store in Boardman. “The weather always hurts us a little, but we are close to where we were last February, so we are happy [with that].”

Despite the rough weather across the Valley and much of the U.S., analysts have positive expectations for sales across the board in February. The analysts have released their sales projections prior to when automakers release the actual numbers, which are slated to come out March 2.

Of high importance to the Valley is General Motors’ Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze. Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, expects a positive February for the compact car.

Specifically, he expects to see a 5- to 8 percent growth in sales for the Cruze. Last February, Cruze had its best February ever with 21,836 units sold for a 21.7 percent increase from the previous year.

Cruze incentive spending has been below others even though the number of Cruzes sold has been higher.

Read more about the month's tallies in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.