Our Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke joins us once again from his home studio in Atlanta, GA, with the latest on the impacts of COVID-19 on the automotive industry. The latest on COVID-19’s nationwide impact Continuing jobless claims and impacts by state Consumer sentiment in the U.S. and in the largest DMAs Cox Automotive consumer survey … Continued
The downward trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continues, but winter weather impacted economic activity and vehicle sales over the past two weeks though housing strengthened. Retail sales rise: Retail sales jumped in January, supported by the $600 stimulus checks issued early in the month in the $900 billion stimulus package signed into law at … Continued
The COVID-19 pandemic turned 2020 into one of the most difficult years in a century, uprooting lives all over the world. Last March, many people in the U.S. had to quickly adapt to what is now commonly referred to as the “new normal.” The pandemic also significantly altered the U.S. automotive industry, particularly in three … Continued
Winter storms that have swept across a large swathe of the U.S., particularly hitting hard the big vehicle-buying state of Texas, should not badly damage vehicle sales this quarter. In Texas, winter storms caused massive power outages that closed dealerships as well as disrupted computer chip production in Austin and vehicle assembly for GM and … Continued
Used-vehicle inventory and prices slipped a bit in January as the sales pace for the month quickened, according to a Cox Automotive analysis of vAuto Available Inventory data. 2.66M Total Unsold Used Vehicles end of January 48 Days’ Supply $21,572 Average Listing Price 66,545 Average Miles The total U.S. supply of unsold used vehicles closed … Continued
Given the ongoing turbulence in the automotive marketplace, the Cox Automotive Economic & Industry Insights team is publishing its mid-month view of the wholesale market, including wholesale prices. The posted material provides commentary and an updated look at the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index and general information on segment performance for the first 15 days … Continued
Our Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke joins us once again from his home studio in Atlanta, GA, with the latest on the impacts of COVID-19 on the automotive industry. The latest on COVID-19’s nationwide impact Continuing jobless claims and impacts by state Consumer sentiment in the U.S. and in the largest DMAs Cox Automotive consumer survey … Continued
Affordability improved in January, as represented by median weeks of income needed to purchase a new vehicle declined to 32.2 weeks from 33.9 weeks in December. The Cox Automotive/Moody’s Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index continues to show that new vehicles have become relatively more affordable since October 2020, when the affordability index reached 35.3 weeks, the … Continued
The downward trend in new daily COVID-19 cases continues. Improving conditions are leading to rollbacks of restrictions, and economic activity and employment should improve as a result. For now, traditional jobless claims are seeing gradual declines, but pandemic assistance claims are growing, and 20.4 million people remain on some form of benefits. Joblessness remains high: … Continued
The estimated average transaction price for a light vehicle in the United States was $40,857 in January 2021, according to the valuation analysts at Kelley Blue Book. New-vehicle prices increased $2,110 (up 5.45%) from January 2020, while falling $295 (down 0.72%) from last month. “January 2021 prices are coming off a historical quarter, with average transaction prices reaching more than $40,000 for the first … Continued