Kelley Blue Book’s Senior Managing Editor Matt DeLorenzo writes This Week in Car Buying, a weekly column on KBB.com. In this week’s news, Matt reports that shelter-in-place rules and cutbacks in dealer operations hit the industry hard at the end of the first quarter as manufacturers report a sales decline of more than 13 percent. While … Continued
A few automakers have reported U.S. sales for Q1 and more numbers are expected tomorrow and into the early part of next week. As expected, the numbers are historically low. As Cox Automotive data shows, sales activity in markets hard hit by COVID-19 all but came to a standstill in the past two weeks. March … Continued
March madness typically springs buyers back into the market as many consumers benefit from the extra cash of a tax return. This March, however, saw most shoppers sent home amid COVID-19 concerns to guard against infection, severely impacting our economy and teaching us new terms like “social distancing.” The entire distribution chain for new and … Continued
Derived from a quarterly survey that Cox Automotive issues to a representative sample of franchised and independent auto dealers from around the country, the Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index (CADSI) measures dealer perceptions of current retail auto sales and sales expectations for the next three months as “strong,” “average” or “weak.” The survey also asks … Continued
UPDATE, March 4, 2020 – February vehicle sales show the automotive market hasn’t caught coronavirus yet. Sales for the month rose nearly 8% over last year, slightly above our forecast of a 6% increase. The SAAR finished at 16.8 million rate which is above our 16.6 million expectation. Clearly this is a good signal for the vehicle … Continued
Thanks in part to a strong supply of off-lease vehicles returning to the market, certified pre-owned (CPO) sales continue to be a bright spot for the auto industry. CPO sales in January were healthy, and there’s nothing that makes us believe anything will be different in February. In fact, with tax return season on the … Continued
BMW has been the most-shopped luxury vehicle brand for more than a year, but its once-tight grip on the No. 1 spot is slipping, according to Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch™ Report for Q4 2019. The recent decline is attributed to fading interest in cars and other luxury vehicle brands, including Audi and Tesla, gaining … Continued
Earlier this month, Cadillac pulled a planeload of media into Los Angeles for the world debut of the 2021 Cadillac Escalade. By all accounts, it was a grand event, on point with a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills and replete with drinks and delicate food, product displays and Cadillac cues. The media coverage was solid, … Continued
At the Cox Automotive press conference at NADA Show 2020, President Sandy Schwartz presented the Cox Automotive Leader in Sustainability Award to Planet Subaru. Following the award presentation, Schwartz and members of his leadership team – including Marianne Johnson, chief product officer, Cox Automotive; Grace Huang, president, Manheim; Keith Jezek, president, Cox Automotive Retail Solutions Group; … Continued
Fiat Chrysler’s Ram brand soared in shopping consideration and consumer perception as well as sales in the final quarter last year, according to the Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch™ Report for Q4 2019. The Brand Watch Report is a consumer perception survey that also weaves in consumer shopping behavior to determine how a brand or … Continued
