When November U.S. auto sales are released tomorrow, it’s expected to tally at 1,365,369 new cars and trucks sold with an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 17.6 million. The projected sales volume is unchanged from October 2016, but a 2.7% increase from November 2015. (AutoData said when the results were in that the seasonally adjusted annual rate – SAAR- in November was 17.87 million.)
This would be a November record, eclipsing the 1,329,668 new cars sold in November last year. Year-to-date sales are essentially the same – as the 15,838,458 sales recorded through the first eleven months of 2015’s record-breaking year.
“It’s no surprise that Black Friday makes or breaks an automaker’s success in November. But it’s important to remember this is a relatively new trend for the auto industry,” said Executive Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell of Edmunds.
”Since 2013, the weekend after Thanksgiving has accounted for an average of 91% more sales than a typical weekend in November. By comparison, the average Thanksgiving weekend lift was merely 39% from 2010 to 2012. Dealers and automakers clearly have found a way in recent years to break through the Black Friday clutter and connect with more car shoppers.
“November sales have the industry well-positioned to set a new annual sales record this year,” Caldwell said, but a new record is notguaranteed.
“Expect to see a flood of ads for holiday season sales events in the coming days and weeks, especially for luxury brands, trucks and SUVs. If we see any year-over-year lifts in these segments in December, then it’s a good bet that the industry will top last year’s record-high sales. Leasing accounts for a larger share of new car transactions than ever before, and nowhere is this truer than in the luxury market. In fact, luxury automakers are on track this year to lease more cars than they sell for the first time ever” said Caldwell.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
