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June auto sales to increase 5 percent or more
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
June auto sales are expected to increase by 5 percent or more year-over-year.
With an expected 1.55 million sales, June 2016 will be the best June for the industry since 2005, analysts say.
“This makes for the best first half of the year ever,” said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book.
One extra selling day this year compared with last helped boost new-vehicle sales, but even without the extra day sales are expected to increase 1.2 percent, according to KBB analysts.
KBB analysts project a 5 percent year-over-year increase in sales to 1.55 million units, while TrueCar analysts project a 5.4 percent increase in sales to 1.556 million.
Most automakers are expected to post an increase when they report sales July 1. KBB expects Subaru of America to post the largest increase in sales of 12.8 percent. TrueCar expects Subaru to post a 15.3 percent increase.
General Motors is expected to post just a slight increase of 0.7 percent to 1 percent. GM’s sales have been down lately because the automaker pulled back on fleet sales to focus on retail.
“They say they will not raise their incentive spending, but we will see,” Fleming said of GM.
To no surprise, the top-selling segment in June will be the compact sport utility vehicle/crossover. The segment is expected to see a 14 percent increase year over year from 237,783 sales to 271,000, according to KBB analysts.
The compact-car segment falls way behind with an expected 208,000 sales this June.
American Honda’s top two sellers – the Civic and Accord – will continue their selling momentum in June.
The Civic is the Lordstown-built Chevrolet Cruze’s top competition.
“It’s doing so well when those type of cars are unpopular,” Fleming said of the Civic.
But KBB numbers also show the Cruze is in high demand.
KBB looks at the average length of time it takes dealers to sell a vehicle once it gets on the lot. The Cruze’s figures have turned around, as the outgoing model averaged 134 days on the lot in March, while the new model averaged just 35 days on the lot in May and 39 in June.
In May and June, the new next-generation Cruze sold at a faster pace than both the Civic and Corolla.
The high demand for the next-generation Cruze, which shipped out to dealers March 21, led GM to supplement the U.S. market with Mexico-built Cruzes.
Overall, auto sales this summer are expected to stabilize with no real surprises.
“It’s business as usual, but business is good so we can’t complain,” Fleming said.