Auto Sales Show Shift to Trucks
According to Experian Automotive, SUVs, crossovers and pickups combined account for 73.1% of U.S. retail auto financing in Q2 2021, vs. 54.9% in 2016. Car share in 2021 was just 24.4% for the quarter, down from 41.4% five years ago.
Auto Prices Hit All-Time High in July
The average transaction price for a new automobile in July 2021 hit a new record high in the U.S. at $42,736, according to Kelley Blue Book. Transaction prices were up $3,223 (8.2%) from July 2020 and increased $402 (0.9%) from June 2021.
Ford Wants More Buyers to Order Online and Wait, Rather Than Pick Off the Lot
In a shift in the way it sells vehicles, Ford plans to do a bigger portion of its sales by having buyers order from the factory and wait, rather than pick from the selection available at the dealership.
Automakers Spend Big On Olympics TV Ads
Automakers increased their spending on television media last month, largely thanks to the Olympics, according to iSpot.tv. In July 2021, automakers spent an estimated $164 million according to iSpot — an increase of nearly 60% year-over-year.
Even with Supply Down Due to Semiconductor Shortage, Auto Industry Still Needs to Advertise
The bounce-back in auto sales this year is suffering a setback due to the global shortage of semiconductors needed to manufacture vehicles. However, that shouldn’t mean that automakers should ease up on advertising.
Chip Shortage to Impact Production
The global computer-chip shortage continues to trip up the world’s largest automakers with some executives predicting it could weigh on operations well into the second half of this year, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The High Prices of Used Cars May Finally Be Dropping
According to Jeff Dyke, president of Sonic Automotive, new car inventories are going to get better progressively over the next few months, and the market is leveling off, with prices dropping by as much as $2,000 for a used car over the course of July as the supply of new cars is starting to increase.
Auto Sales Eased Again in July
TrueCar forecasts total new vehicle sales will reach 1.292 million in July, up just 1% from a year ago but down 8% vs. June. This month’s seasonally adjusted annualized rate for total light vehicle sales is an estimated 14.7 million, staying on par with July 2020.
Used-Car Sales Continue to Shine for Public Dealer Groups
The used-car market was a strong suit for publicly traded dealer groups in the first half of the year, including Asbury Automotive Group and Penske Automotive Group.
GM to Restart Output of Full-Size Pickups
General Motors will resume full-size pickup production next week, as planned, after cutting output this week due to the global microchip shortage. GM has prioritized chips for its lucrative full-size pickup and SUV segments over crossovers and sedans.
Electric-Vehicle Sales Growth Outpaces Broader Auto Industry
Sales of plug-in vehicles more than doubled in the first half of 2021 compared with last year, when the pandemic sapped sales. That far outpaced the 29% rise for total vehicle sales, according to research firm Wards Intelligence.
Daimler to Invest $47 Billion in EVs by 2030
Daimler plans to invest more than $47 billion between 2022 and 2030 to develop full-electric vehicles, and be ready for an all-electric vehicle market by the end of that period.
Despite Supply Woes, Auto Sales Still Roll
Despite fears of car supply availability, auto dealers aren’t running into any speed bumps just yet. Both Lithia Motors and AutoNation — dealers selling new and used vehicles — reported record revenue and profits last quarter.
Average New-Vehicle Prices at All-Time High
The estimated average transaction price for a light vehicle in the U.S. was $42,258 in June, according to the analysts at Kelley Blue Book. New-vehicle prices increased 6.4% from June 2020, while increasing 2.2% from May 2021.
AutoNation CEO: No More Bloated Output
U.S. automakers won’t go back to bloated output and bulging dealer lots, even after the global semiconductor shortage ends, according to the CEO of AutoNation.
How Ford Plans to Ease Glut of Unfinished Vehicles
With dealers desperate for inventory, Ford is plotting a new strategy to handle the thousands of partially built vehicles that are awaiting microchips.
In This Auto Market, 100K Miles Is Just Fine
Vehicles with 100,000 to 109,999 miles fetched an average transaction price of $16,489 at dealerships last month, Edmunds said. Not only is that up 31% on a year-over-year basis, Edmunds has never before seen average transaction prices that high on that class of vehicle.
TSMC Expects Auto-Chip Shortage to Abate This Quarter
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. , the world’s largest contract chip maker, said it expects the chip shortage that has hampered car makers to start easing in the next few months after it ramped up its production of auto chips.
Vehicle Shortage Hits Youngest Consumers
New research from GfK AutoMobility shows that awareness of the new-vehicle inventory constraint is higher among older consumers. But, among those who are aware, younger consumers are much more likely to say that the lack of inventory has affected their plans to buy or lease a new car.
Q2 Auto Sales Dominated by Light Trucks
According to the NADA, U.S. auto sales and the economy for Q2 produced a 17 million-unit SAAR, up slightly from the 16.9 million-unit SAAR in Q1. Through Q2, light-trucks represented 76.9% of all new vehicles sold and the segment is expected to continue to move toward an 80% market share.