Automotive News, March 9, 2020 – As they reached mid-winter, U.S. dealers answering a quarterly Cox Automotive survey looked forward to a robust spring selling season and were taking on additional employees and investing in technology to further drive sales. But if the survey had been administered just weeks later, as coronavirus concerns spooked Wall Street … Continued
All of the new economic and market data reported last week covered February or January. The February metrics are positive – strong job creation, strong new and used retail sales – but reflect an economy and auto market before concerns about the coronavirus began mounting. Stock, bonds volatile: Stock indices saw extreme volatility this week … Continued
Detroit Free Press, March 6, 2020 – If you’ve been delaying that car repair, Jenni Newman has some advice: Don’t wait to take your car to the shop. The coronavirus and its growing tally of sick and dead victims around the world have been roiling financial markets, prompting countless hand-washing reminders and ruining more than … Continued
Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) increased 1.35% month over month in February. This brought the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 143.5, a 6.2% increase from a year ago and a record high for the Index. After a normal and steady trend in weekly Manheim Market Report (MMR) prices … Continued
Year-over-year growth in fleet sales continue to track lower than last year even as combined rental, commercial and government purchases of new vehicles were up 2.7% in February. Total fleet volume in February was 278,561, up slightly from 271,130 in February 2019. Commercial vehicle sales were up 8.7% year over year in February. Retail sales of … Continued
North of Detroit today at General Motors’ sprawling product development center, top officials are holding a deep dive into their future electric vehicle (EV) plans. Media and analysts alike have been invited, and cell phones, cameras and recording equipment are all prohibited. They’re talking about advanced new battery technology – calling it a breakthrough – … Continued
The IRS caught up with statistics on tax filings and refunds through Friday, February 21. As of then, tax returns filed with the IRS were down slightly (0.1%), but the number of refunds was down 2.9%. The average refund was also down (0.6%). We were a bit more than a third of the way through … Continued
Auto Remarketing, March 3, 2020 – The Federal Reserve sensed the U.S. economy is becoming ill stemming from the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak so policymakers made the surprise move on Tuesday by cutting the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points to 1.00% to 1.25%. Experts at Cox Automotive reacted to the … 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
After incentive program volume records last month, the OEM volume in February dropped back down to average levels and below both 2018 and 2019 levels. After a year of strong incentives, we will likely see a reduction of guaranteed money and more conditional (consumer qualified offers) in CY2020. Dealer inventory levels appear to be at acceptable levels, which is cause for many automakers to … Continued
