Despite the weak economy, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has raised its 2002 projections for vehicle sales from 16.3 to 16.8 million units, based largely on the continuing success of zero percent financing.
NADA Chief Economist Paul Taylor expects the
financing incentives to stay strong through November. According to Taylor, this will be significant in helping maintain sales of new car
models as they become plentiful on dealer lots.
Incentives have also increased the sales in the luxury vehicle market. According to Taylor,
luxury car sales were up 1.5 percent through July. He also noted that luxury light vehicle sales have an obvious relationship to the strength of the stock market as it impacts household average net assets.
“Consumers continue to shop, but with a keener eye to bargains,†Taylor said.