Is this the “new normal” whereby only people who really need a new vehicle actually buy one?
As the U.S. auto industry slowly recovers from the Great Recession, new vehicle sales as a percent of the growing population remain weak by historical standards.
New data from consultancy CNW Research show that at the current selling rate of just over 14 million units for 2012, sales would represent 4.5% percent of the U.S. population.
This compares with More than 7.5% in 1986 and 6.2% in 2000. In the year just before the reckless practices of deregulated banks and Wall Street destroyed the global economy, 2007 vehicle sales were 5.4 % of the population. Conversely, for the industry to hit the calendar year 2000 share would require selling 19.5 million new units, which would be an all time record.
CNW also notes that combined new and used vehicle sales from 1997 through 2004 held steady in the 21% range. At the height of the recession in 2009-2010, it dropped to under 16% and remains under 18% this year even with a strong used-car market.
CNW concludes that the industry is “far from the healthy, robust athlete it was just a few years ago. The key hold back among consumers remains having well-paying jobs and solid confidence in the economy.”
