Joy ride… straight off the lot. New US car sales surged by as much as 14% in the first half of this year, as the auto industry pulled ahead into a post-pandemic comeback. GM, Kia, Nissan, and Honda have all recently reported strong new-vehicle sales in the second quarter, while EV-only peers Tesla and Rivian delivered more vehicles than expected.
Hittin’ the gas: Research firm Cox Automotive (think: Kelley Blue Book, Autotrader) jacked up its estimate of how many new vehicles will be sold this year to 15M, from just over 14M.
Butterfly doors: As people bought more expensive rides, including EVs, average new-car prices hit $46K last month. That’s up 3% since the start of the year.
Shiny and new… American consumer confidence jumped to a 17-month high in June, even as some experts continued to anticipate a recession. Consumers’ warm-and-fuzzy economic feelings could help drive big-ticket buys like cars, but the open road may hide some speed bumps:
Full lots: With pandemic-related supply-chain kinks mostly ironed out, automakers’ inventories are growing after three years of being limited.
Bumpy road: Some analysts say production may’ve ramped up too much and that dealers could be left with a glut at the end of the year. Translation: potential discounts.
It’s hard to call a race midway… Despite recent rosy #s, Cox Automotive predicts that car buying will cool in the second half of this year (it still hasn’t caught up to pre-pandemic levels). Plus, as used-car prices have fallen from their highs, shoppers may opt for pre-owned versus new. And while consumers’ plans to buy pricey items (picture: cars, houses) have been in high gear, the latest Consumer Confidence Index suggests they could cool later this year as rates rise.