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U.S. auto sales maintain strength as economy remains stable
YOUNGSTOWN
U.S. auto sales in November maintained their strength, with General Motors exceeding analyst’s expectations for the month.
Total auto sales for 2018 are on track to exceed 2017’s sales and pass 17 million sales for the fourth-straight year, which would be a record streak.
Kelley Blue Book reported the estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the U.S. was $36,978 in November, up 2 percent year-over-year. KBB noted much of the growth took place in the pickup truck and mid- to full-size SUV segments.
Jonathan Smoke, the chief economist at Cox Automotive, attributed the sustained strength to the stability of the U.S. economy.
“Consumers continue to spend, which is supporting economic growth, and low unemployment is driving wage increases. Consumer confidence, while down a bit in November, remains very strong,” Smoke said.
Wages have increased by 3.3 percent in the third quarter, beating the 2.6 percent inflation rate for the same time period.
This is the first time wages have outpaced inflation this year.
GM does not make its sales numbers public on a quarterly basis, but the Cox Automotive team has estimated the company performed better than its initial forecast of 235,000 vehicles, a year-over-year decline of 4.2 percent.
Cox automotive analysts now believe GM’s sales were either similar to or slightly higher than its third-quarter sales in 2017, which were about 245,000.
GM’s estimated average transaction price for November was $41,058, up half a percent over the October average.
Ford, though experiencing a decline of 0.2 percent from its November sales last year, still out-performed expectations.
Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst for Autotrader, said Ford performed better than expected due to its implementation of holiday consumer incentives, such as cash help for subprime consumers, employee pricing for victims of wildfires and hurricanes and cash for owners of competitive models.
She anticipates the deals will continue throughout this year.