November new-vehicle retail sales continue to track at a relatively good selling pace as the month closes. The retail annual selling rate is predicted to come in at 10 million units for the second straight month, according to J.D. Power and Associates, which gathers real-time transaction data from more than 8,900 retail franchisees throughout the United States. If true, and if fleet sales are strong as they have been recently, then the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Selling Rate (SAAR) should come in over 12 million vehicles. Most automakers can expect increased profits in what has been thus far a jobless recovery, as the Great Recession lingers and businesses refuse to hire more workers.
Companies to watch include two of the world’s biggest – General Motors and Toyota. Both have not been able this year to grow at a rate equal to or better than the overall vehicle market. Year-to-date through October 9,571,000 vehicles have been sold in the U.S., a plus 13% gain fr0m 2009. GM is up 4%, Toyota in spite of large incentives and advertising is down 4%.
Meanwhile, Hyundai and Ford, to name just two, have been growing at rates greater than the recovery. An AutoInformed analysis will be forthcoming when the final tallies are in.
“Strength in retail sales has continued past mid-November, revealing a trend toward sustained upward momentum,” said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. “It appears that consumer concern regarding the pace of the recovery may be easing as the industry exhibits gradual improvement.”
We’ll see.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, 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.
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 during a downshift 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.
