From The Cox Automotive Newsroom

COX AUTOMOTIVE LOWERS FULL-YEAR NEW-VEHICLE SALES FORECAST AS PERSISTENT SUPPLY PROBLEMS CONTINUE TO HOLD BACK AUTO INDUSTRY

The Cox Automotive Industry Insights team expected a year-over-year decline in June auto sales; however, the actual decline was even greater than anticipated. Sales last month came in at approximately 1.125 million; the forecast was for 1.2 million. 
 
Some declines were particularly notable, with large year-over-year declines at Buick, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and others. The Honda drop was hard to ignore, with June sales being 54% lower than a year ago. The year-over-year decline last month was similar to Honda’s year-over-year drop in April 2020, when the global COVID pandemic had shut down much of the U.S. market. 
 
As Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie Chesbrough continues to note, new-vehicle sales in the U.S. will continue to underperform expectations without a material change in inventory levels. Yes, the combination of high new-vehicle prices and ongoing inflationary concerns are slowing the market, but new-vehicle sales are primarily being held in check by low inventories.  
 
Read the team’s updated commentary and the press release to find out how the automakers performed in the second quarter and first half.

HIGHER DEPRECIATION CREATES BUYING OPPORTUNITIES

In his biweekly video, the Auto Market Report, Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke notes: “Sales are limited in new with tight supply, high prices and low incentives, but that’s nothing new. Used sales are not as strong as last year but are holding momentum. With used supply relatively normal, prices are clearly showing depreciation and that actually creates buying opportunities for consumers. Consumer sentiment is indeed a bit worrying, but a strong job market favors stability and demand.”
 
Read the Auto Market Weekly Summary and watch the Auto Market Report video for more data and insights from Smoke on new and used retail sales and inventory, depreciation patterns and Cox Automotive leading indicators.

COX AUTOMOTIVE’S TEN PREDICTIONS FOR 2022 TAKE HOME A SOLID “B” GRADE IN THE FIRST HALF

As the first half of 2022 came to a close, the Cox Automotive Industry Insights team reviewed the market predictions we offered back in January and assessed how well we did. Our original Ten Predictions for 2022 are holding up well for the most part. We have fallen short on three items.

Check out Jonathan Smoke’s latest assessment of how each prediction is faring so far this year.

WHO WILL AUTOMAKERS LISTEN TO – THE ANGELS OR THE DEVILS?

Brian Finkelmeyer, Cox Automotive’s senior director of new-vehicle sales strategies, has been thinking about what might happen to the auto industry – eventually – when new-vehicle supply begins to flow freely again. Many speculate that automakers will work to limit inventory and hold onto newfound pricing power. Finkelmeyer is not convinced.
 
Read his thoughts in an article published last week: Who Will Automakers Listen To – the Angels or the Devils?