| Auto sales keep surging even as economy sputters
How will weak economic reports impact strong auto sales? Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds. auto industry is shoring up its position as one of the bright spots in the sputtering American economy. While GM recently raised its forecast for all of 2012 to a possible peak of 14. 9 million. On the other hand, AAA is reporting that nationwide fuel prices have tumbled an average of about 27 cents a gallon since their early-April peak. Among the optimists is analyst Jesse Toprak, of data tracking firm TrueCar. Fellow Japanese maker Honda, which was also hard hit by the March 2011 Japanese disaster posted an only slightly less impressive 47. That's already showing up in sliding demand and lower prices for certain used vehicles, especially smaller, high-mileage offerings. One alternative explanation is that as one of the basic tools of the American working class, the surge in pickup sales could suggest Main Street is recovering faster than Wall Street right now. "We're not ready to change our forecast," said Browning, cautioning there are plenty of economic uncertainties that might easily lead to a softening of demand during the second half of 2012. Analyst Art Spinella, of CNW Marketing, said that showed up in his firm's "Jitters Index," a measure of how worried potential auto buyers are. But for the moment, the May numbers leave reason to hope that car sales will well exceed cautious earlier forecasts for 2012. But even with some makers reporting sales that nearly doubled last month, there are some potentially troubling issues behind the May figures. The May numbers generated a series of superlatives: General Motors, with an 11 percent increase year-over-year, posted its best sales since August 2009, during the government's Cash-for-Clunkers program. "Sales are continuing to rebound and consumers are feeling more comfortable buying highly contented vehicles," said Toprak, noting that four brands, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia, scored the highest average transaction prices - the figure consumers actually pay after discounts - in their history. Toyota, meanwhile, saw its sales surge by over 87 percent for the month, a significant turnaround for a maker that had suffered sharp declines throughout much of 2011. But Nissan didn't suffer quite as serious production-related sales losses in 2011 as the other two members of Japan's Big Three. job market to the decline of the stock market, never mind the potential crisis in the Euro Zone. Japan's second-largest maker, Nissan, meanwhile, saw its sales climb "only" 20. But Toyota officials insist there were other factors behind the May revival. |
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Auto sales keep surging even as economy sputters
