What You Were Reading in 2021

Inventory. Pricing. Microchips. Used-vehicle values. This past year had plenty of headlines – hot topics that shifted the industry dynamic. But arguably, maybe 2021 was not so different than any year for our car business. In an industry as large and complex as the auto industry, what’s normal anymore? In 2020, we had the onset of a global pandemic. In 2019, sales incentives were running wild. The only certainty seems to be uncertainty.

In the past year, the Cox Automotive Industry Insights team has worked hard to provide the data and insights that help add color and context to the auto industry’s story, to help clarify what’s happening, and shine a light on the key metrics that define our complex business. The story is rarely crystal clear, and the path forward is never direct. Still, the numbers and Data Points provide a map of where we’ve been and give hints to where we’re going.

We are both humbled and honored by the traffic in the Cox Automotive Newsroom and the growing interest in “From the Newsroom”, our biweekly newsletter. The newsletter is now routinely reaching over 5,000 receipts with each send, and readership is strong. Our Newsroom routinely welcomes more than 30,000 visitors each month. 

What were readers most interested in last year? A bit of everything, it seems, although inventory and used-vehicle values certainly rise to the top. Our annual Predictions release drew a lot of interest – look for our 2022 look ahead next week. The context of how the buying process is shifting (the Car Buyer Journey) was noteworthy as well, and we will release the 2021 Car Buyer Journey Study on January 18. In the end, though, the most popular stories in the Newsroom were all about Economics 101, supply and demand, where low inventory and high prices changed the landscape for buyers and sellers alike. We suspect the song will remain the same in the year ahead, at least through the first half.

Here are the Top 10 most-read posts in the Cox Automotive Newsroom last year.

1. Wholesale Used Vehicle Prices Peak According to Latest Manheim Data
2. Penske Automotive Group and Cox Automotive Debut Automated Platform for Retailing Used Vehicles
3. Six Predictions for the 2021 Automotive Market
4. Cox Automotive Study Finds Car Buying Process Improved During COVID-19 Pandemic
5. Cox Automotive Forecast: August New-Vehicle Sales Pace Slowest of 2021 Due to Low Supply
6. New-Vehicle Inventories Low but Starting to Stabilize
7. Pickup Trucks Take Hit from Parts Shortages
8. U.S. New-Vehicle Shoppers Expect Limited Choices, High Prices
9. 10 takeaways from U.S. Auto Sales: Q1 2021
10. New-Vehicle Inventories Continue to Drop, Reach Record Low in May

And here’s to more in 2022! Bookmark the Newsroom and the Auto Market Snapshot to see the latest news, and sign up for the biweekly newsletter to receive a round-up of our best content directly in your inbox.