With market dynamics leading to record prices and a nine-year low in incentives, new-vehicle affordability declined this spring and has hit record lows in each of the last two months. Without improving incomes and favorable interest rates, the decline in affordability would have been even worse July. The number of median weeks of income needed … Continued
New daily COVID-19 cases continued to increase last week. Jobless claims kept falling, but measures of consumer sentiment are showing declines so far in August as consumers deal with a host of issues including the fourth wave of COVID-19, diminishing unemployment benefits in half of the country and inflation. Inflation moderated: Inflation moderated in July … Continued
Certified pre-owned (CPO) sales reached 248,749 units in July, reflecting a 4% month-over-month increase and a 2% year-over-year decrease when relatively strong July 2020 CPO sales were part of the used-vehicle market recovery. A much more relevant comparison is to July 2019, and CPO sales were up 5% compared to that more normal period. CPO … Continued
After slumping to historic lows a month ago, new-vehicle inventory, based on days of supply, showed signs of stabilizing as the U.S. industry entered August, according to a Cox Automotive analysis of vAuto Available Inventory data. Still, overall inventory remains far lower than normal while average listing prices keep climbing. 1.11M Total Inventoryas of end … Continued
Access to auto credit was little changed in July after two months of modest moves according to the Dealertrack Auto Credit Availability Index for all types of auto loans. The All Loans Index increased 0.1% to 98.1 in July, reflecting that auto credit was slightly easier to get in the month compared to June. Access was looser by 5.1% year over year, but compared to February 2020, access … Continued
July saw further strong gains in jobs with 943,000 created. The headline unemployment rate and the underemployment rate fell to new lows for the pandemic. New jobless claims also fell again last week, and continuing claims fell in the latest data as well. Average hourly earnings are growing at a fast pace especially since most … Continued
Wholesale used vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) decreased 2.6% month-over-month in July. This brought the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 195.2, a 23.6% increase from a year ago. Manheim Market Report (MMR) prices saw weekly declines every week in July with price declines accelerating through mid-month but then slowing … Continued
In July, 115,976 total fleet units were sold, a 16% month-over-month decrease compared to 138,801 in June but an 11% increase from July 2020 which recorded 104,769 units. This brings the 2021 year-to-date total combined large rental, commercial, and government purchases of new vehicles to 1.09 million units, a 6% increase from this time in … Continued
Toyota in Japan reported its financial results for the April-to-June quarter Thursday, Aug. 5. The quarter is Toyota’s first in its fiscal year that ends March 31, 2022. The U.S. headline in the quarter was that Toyota beat General Motors in sales for the first time. Toyota accomplished the feat with the lowest inventories for … Continued
General Motors reports second-quarter 2021 financial results on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 4. GM was forced to cut production due to the global computer chip shortage in the quarter. Its GMC and Chevrolet divisions had among the industry’s skimpiest inventories, as did all of GM’s trucks and full-size SUVs. However, GM was able to … Continued