Market Insights and Outlook - Cox Automotive Inc.

Smoke on Cars Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke shares his insights on macroeconomic trends, business cycles, demand and the economic factors influencing the automotive industry today. See Insights ›

Commentary & Voices Our team of analysts and experts share their reactions, insights and unique perspectives on the behaviors, data and industry moves that are affecting the broader automotive business. See Insights ›

Data Point The automotive industry is a data-driven business. These are the data points that our team of experts and analysts find most interesting, offered with insights to explain why it matters and why you should know. See Insights ›

Economy & Trends Dynamic economic factors and market trends continually influence our industry, and Cox Automotive’s economists and analysts provide data analysis, forecasts and reports to enhance the understanding of how these factors affect the automotive marketplace. See Insights ›

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CPO Sales on Pace to Break 2018 Record 06/18/2019 Sales of certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles increased 1% in May compared to May 2018 and were up 8% compared to April. For the month, 251,863 CPO units were sold. This brings the total CPO sales for 2019 to 1,162,441 units. This year CPO sales are up 2% versus 2018, growing at a comfortable pace above 2018’s record-setting performance. As the used-vehicle market continues to see strong consumer… Read Article

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Automakers Have Come a Long Way in Improving Fuel Economy. Where Do They Go From Here? 06/17/2019 New vehicles have enjoyed tremendous gains in fuel economy over the past decade. It’s worth noting the significant improvements as the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee prepare for a June 20 hearing on the Trump administration's proposal to freeze fuel efficiency standards at 2020 levels through 2026. Since 2007, the sport-utility vehicle segment has achieved the highest percentage improvement in fuel economy –… Read Article

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Vehicle Inventories Back in Check, Down from Recent Highs 06/14/2019 Automakers and their dealers entered June with inventories of unsold vehicles falling from the 10-year-high levels of recent months, thanks to improved May sales. May inventories dipped below 4 million units for the first time in four months, according to Autodata/Motor Intelligence. That pushed the days’ supply for all new unsold vehicles to 64 days, down from 78 days in April, the highest level since 2009.… Read Article

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10 Things to Know About May Sales 06/12/2019 May 2019 auto sales were reported last week, and the numbers came in stronger than initial forecasts, but down slightly from year-ago levels. Big fleet sales helped the total, but the retail side of the market remains soft. Our data team at Kelley Blue Book has had a chance to comb through the numbers. Here are ten things we think you might have missed, based on… Read Article

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May Fleet Sales Pick Up Pace, Increase 29% From April 06/06/2019 May’s sales performance is a repeat of something we saw throughout the first quarter – fleet up, retail down. A total of 311,308 fleet units were sold, up 29% from April's 240,898 units sold. Combined rental, commercial and government purchases of new vehicles were up 11% year-over-year in May, and up 29% month over month. Commercial (+12%) and rental (+14%) fleet channels were up year over… Read Article

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Tesla Stock Slumps but Consumer Interest and Brand Health Hold Strong 05/21/2019 Tesla’s stock price slumped to its lowest level since December 2016 Monday, falling below $200 during active trading, after another analyst issued a scathing report on the electric automaker’s problems and cut the price target for the stock after heavy Wall Street selling last week. Some worry demand for Tesla vehicles, notably the popular Model 3, is waning. That would be bad news for the brand… Read Article

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CPO Sales Gaining Momentum 05/15/2019 Sales of certified pre-owned vehicles increased 6% year-over-year in April. For the month, 233,540 CPO units were sold. This brings the total CPO sales for 2019 to 910,578 units, up 2% year-to-date versus the same period last year.This growth in CPO is in stark contrast to the weakness we continue to see with retail new-vehicle sales, which are down 4% for the year. Market trends such as rising… Read Article

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April Fleet Sales Decline 24% 05/13/2019 New-vehicle retail sales were down 2% in April, leading to a retail seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 13.5 million units, down from 14.1 million last April. The affordability issue is likely to impact the retail side of the market more than the fleet side which will support gains in fleet share over the course of the year. However, combined rental, commercial and government purchases of new vehicles were… Read Article

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10 Things to Know About April Sales 05/13/2019 The books on April automotive sales in the U.S. were closed by most automakers on Wednesday, May 1. Since then, our team of analysts and experts have been combing through it all. They look at the mainstream makers, not the niche players such as Ferrari and Bentley, and sort as much data as they can. Here’s 10 random takeaways from last month, according to a Kelley… Read Article

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Wholesale Used-Vehicle Prices Reflect Spring Bounce By Increasing in April 05/07/2019 Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) increased 1.81% month-over-month in April. This brought the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 138.4, a 4.5% increase from a year ago. On a year-over-year basis, most major market segments saw seasonally adjusted price gains in April. Midsize cars and pickups outperformed the overall market, while all other major segments underperformed the overall market.Looking at… Read Article

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