New Vehicle Sales Expected to Drop in June, Closing a Second Down Quarter in 2020, Edmunds Forecasts
Analysts forecast a healthier-than-expected SAAR of 12.8 million in June as the country expands reopening and more consumers resume car purchases, but warn that new market factors could create trouble ahead.
Analysts forecast a healthier-than-expected SAAR of 12.8 million in June as the country expands reopening and more consumers resume car purchases, but warn that new market factors could create trouble ahead.
Image by WorldInMyEyes from Pixabay
2 min to read
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The car shopping experts at Edmunds say that June will be another down month for auto sales as the industry continues to combat market challenges posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, forecasting that 1,080,656 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in June for an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 12.8 million. This reflects a 28.7% decrease in sales from June 2019 and a 3.6% decrease from May 2020.
Edmunds experts note that sales are also down for the second quarter in a row this year, forecasting sales of 2,914,860 new cars and trucks in the second quarter, which reflects a 34.3% decrease from the second quarter of 2019.
Ad Loading...
“It comes as no surprise that the second quarter was a disappointing one for the automotive industry, but the good news is that auto sales didn’t come to a complete standstill either,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ executive director of insights. “The fact that retail sales — not fleet — are what kept the market propped up speaks volumes to the resilience of the American consumer. And the way that dealers were quick to pivot to online sales also underscores the incredibly responsive and resourceful nature of the industry in the face of adversity.”
Although Edmunds data shows a steady growth in sales since the end of March, analysts caution that some of the strains of the pandemic are starting to show as more shoppers return to the market.
“The marketplace is growing less inviting as automakers pull back on incentives and inventory dwindles due to factory shutdowns, particularly when it comes to trucks, which have been the one bright spot for sales during the pandemic,” said Caldwell. “Current sales paint an optimistic picture given the circumstances, but between COVID-19 and today’s politically charged climate, the industry needs to prepare for uncertainties ahead.”
*NOTE: June 2020 had 25 selling days, June 2019 had 26 and May 2020 had 26.
Edmunds estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 11.1 million vehicles in June 2020, with fleet transactions accounting for 13.0% of total sales.
Ad Loading...
More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in the Edmunds Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/.
GM says it sells the cheapest electric vehicle in the U.S. market. It explains how it made improvements to the entry-level EV while keeping its price down.
GM says more than 750 dealers across the U.S. are enrolled in CarBravo and that in January CarBravo dealers sold over two times the certified volume of Chevrolet, Buick and GMC dealers using traditional CPO.
More Americans are open to made-in-China than one might think, especially the youngest, though general awareness here of its growing brands is limited.
Study finds that adopters are true believers and that their satisfaction with the vehicles is growing, including for public charger experience, despite pullback of federal incentives.
Electric-vehicle inventory dropped in December, according to S&P Global, but the hybrid market saw about a 19% year-over-year increase in supply despite being down from November.
Subaru addition to its sole U.S. plant mirrors the automotive industry’s emphasis on the gas-alternative powertrain after recent setbacks for pure EVs.
The year starts with declined expectations for economic conditions and plans to make big purchases. Used cars, though, are among the top big-ticket categories under consideration.
