Untitled Document Home
Chef & Hotel Profile
Publisher's Page
Gift Guide
Travel Adventures
Epicurean Events
Health Minded
Spa Baby Secrets
Sips
Book Bites
Culinary Coup
Sense of Style
Kids Kaleidoscope
Tinsletown Tidbits
Wheels
Radio Show & Links
Contact Us


WHEELS   .   .   .


HOW IS THE PANDEMIC AFFECTING THE CAR WORLD?

Major automakers reported their third-quarter sales were down compared to a year ago -- but far less than the substantial plunge in sales during the second quarter.

"It's coming in better than we thought," said Michelle Krebs, senior analyst with Cox Automotive.
Auto sales have been hurt by the large jump in unemployment, and millions more people working from home, leaving far fewer people needing a car to get to work. And many people can no longer afford a car because of the recession.
Temporary shutdowns of auto plants earlier this year also limited inventories of some of the more popular models.

Better than the train

Although the pandemic has provided some headwinds to car sales, it is also helping lift sales in some respects, according to Elaine Buckberg, GM's chief economist. Surveys show some consumers see private car ownership as a safe space, especially compared to public transit or ride hailing services for local trips, or flying for longer trips.
She said the pandemic has also created savings from foregone vacations, entertainment and restaurant meals that some buyers are applying to new car purchases. And some city residents have increased interest in owning a vehicle as some seek to move to the suburbs and others want to escape the city on weekends, she said.
The jump in new home construction has also helped drive demand for pickup trucks, and the rebound in the stock market after the sell-off earlier in the year has restored household wealth for some buyers who might have postponed some purchases.

Not getting back to normal anytime soon

Even if some consumer demand for cars is showing renewed strength, a substantial drop in fleet demand is proving difficult to overcome for most brands said iSeeCars analyst Karl Brauer. Fleet sales to rental car companies, which typically account for 10% of sales by themselves, have nearly ground to a halt as air travel has greatly slowed demand for car rentals.
Uncertainty about the economy, the election and the pandemic will continue to serve as a drag on sales he said. Krebs also noted credit is tightening, especially on the subprime part of the business.
"The rates are low if you have good credit," she said. "But we're seeing more and more people knocked out of the new car market because they can't get credit."
Krebs and Brauer are both forecasting full-year US sales of about 14 million vehicles, down from 17 million in 2019. Although Krebs doesn'tyet have a forecast yet for 2021 sales, she noted her firm doesn't believe the industry will return to 17 million anytime soon.
Some automakers said that September sales were ahead of where they were in 2019, although the timing of Labor Day weekend a year ago, when it was counted as part of August sales, makes direct month-to-month comparison somewhat difficult.
GM (GM), the leader in US sales, reported a 10% drop in the quarter compared a year ago, way better than the 34% plunge in sales in the second quarter. While it did not break out September sales, it said industry and GM sales both rebounded significantly in September.
Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) reported a 10% drop in the quarter after sales tumbled 39% in the second quarter.
Toyota (TM) does break out September sales and said they were up 16.2%, from a year ago, partly because of the difference in the calendar. Its overall third quarter sales fell 11%. Sales had fallen 35% in the second quarter.
Other automakers are due to report results later Thursday, although Ford (F) won't report results until Friday and Tesla (TSLA) has yet to say when it will report third-quarter sales.



2008
March 08 | April 08 | May 08 | June 08 | July 08 | August 08 | September 08 | October 08 | November 08 | December 08 | January 09 | March 09 | February 09 | April 09 | May 09 | June 09 | July 09 | August 09 | September 09 | October 09 | October 10 | November 09 | December 09 | January 10 | February 10 | March 10 | April 10 | May 10 | June 10 | July 10 | August 10 | September 10 | November 10 | December 10 | January 11 | February 11 | March 11 | April 11 | May 11 | June 11 | July 11 | August 11 | September 11 | October 11 | November 11 | December 11 | January 12 | February 12 | March 12 | March 12 | April 12 | May 12 | June 12 | July 12 | August 12 | September 12 | October 12 | November 12 | December 12 | January 13 | February 13 | March 13 | April 13 | May 13 | June 13 | July 13 | August 13 | September 13 | October 13 | October | November 13 | December 13 | January 14 | February 14 | July 14 | March 14 | April 14 | May 14 | June 14 | August 14 | September 14 | October 14 | November 14 | December 14 | January 15 | February 15 | March 15 | April 15 | May 15 | June 15 | July 15 | August 15 | September 15 | October 15 | November 15 | December 15 | January 16 | February 16 | March 16 | April 16 | May 16 | June 16 | July 16 | August 16 | September 16 | October 16 | November 16 | December 16 | January 17 | February 17 | March 17 | April 17 | May 17 | June 17 | July 17 | August 17 | September 17 | October 17 | December 17 | January 18 | September 18 | February 18 | March 18 | April 18 | May 18 | June 18 | July 18 | August 18 | October 18 | November 18 | December 18 | January 19 | February 19 | July 20 | February 19 | March 19 | March | April 19 | May 19 | June 19 | July 19 | August 19 | September 19 | October 19 | November 19 | December 19 | January 20 | February 20 | March 20 | April 20 | May 20 | June 20 | August 20 | September 20 | October 20 | November 20 | December 20 | January 21 | February 21 | March 21 | April 21 | May 21 | June 21 | July 21 | August 21 | September 21 | October 21 | November 21 | December 21 | January 22 | February 22 | March 22 | April 22 | May 22 | June 22 | July 22 | August 22 | September 22 | October 22 | November 22 | December 22 | January 23 | February 23 | March 23 | April 23 | May 23 | June 23 | July 23 | September 23 | October 23 | November 23 | December 23 | January 24 | February 24 | February 08

© 2008 Bonnie Carroll, All Rights Reserved