- Annual new-vehicle sales pace in May is forecast to finish near
15.8 million, an increase from last May's 15.5 million level and up
0.1 million from April's 15.7 million pace.
- May's sales volume is expected to rise to 1.42 million units, a
3.5% increase from one year ago and a 6.4% increase from
April.
- More selling days are helping this month's total as this May
has 26 sales days, one more than last year and last month.
ATLANTA, May 24, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Cox Automotive forecasts that May's
new-vehicle sales will show improvement over last year, driven by
significantly increased inventory levels leading to more appealing
incentives. However, vehicle affordability issues, driven
partly by high interest rates and elevated new-vehicle prices,
continue to weigh negatively on sales, as typical monthly payments
for new-vehicle loans are above $750.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate SAAR, or sales pace, in May
is forecast to finish near 15.8 million, up from last May's 15.5
million level and a modest uptick from last month's 15.7 million
pace. Sales volume is expected to rise 3.5% over last year and 6.4%
above last month. There are 26 selling days this May, one more than
last year and last month.
At the start of May, new-vehicle inventory was at 2.84
million units, 51% above year-ago levels and the highest point
since late 2020. But prices have barely budged compared to the same
time in 2023. Meanwhile, incentives are running nearly twice the
level seen a year ago.
Cox Automotive Senior Economist Charlie
Chesbrough said: "Sales in May generally improve over
April as nicer weather brings more shoppers out to dealer lots.
Memorial Day weekend often sees many low-price promotions from
manufacturers as they try to build strong sales momentum for the
summer season. With high inventory levels for several brands, we
expect shoppers to see many aggressive offers this year."
May 2024 New-Vehicle Sales
Forecast
|
Sales
Forecast1
|
Market
Share
|
|
Segment
|
May-24
|
May-23
|
Apr-24
|
YOY%
|
MOM%
|
May-24
|
May-23
|
YOY
|
|
Mid-Size Car
|
80,000
|
87,695
|
73,472
|
-8.8 %
|
8.9 %
|
5.6 %
|
6.4 %
|
-0.8 %
|
|
Compact Car
|
110,000
|
92,666
|
101,607
|
18.7 %
|
8.3 %
|
7.7 %
|
6.8 %
|
1.0 %
|
|
Compact
SUV/Crossover
|
250,000
|
219,605
|
234,497
|
13.8 %
|
6.6 %
|
17.6 %
|
16.0 %
|
1.6 %
|
|
Full-Size Pickup
Truck
|
190,000
|
193,630
|
179,736
|
-1.9 %
|
5.7 %
|
13.4 %
|
14.1 %
|
-0.7 %
|
|
Mid-Size
SUV/Crossover
|
225,000
|
239,154
|
212,624
|
-5.9 %
|
5.8 %
|
15.8 %
|
17.4 %
|
-1.6 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
All Other
Segments
|
565,000
|
538,874
|
532,275
|
4.8 %
|
6.1 %
|
39.8 %
|
39.3 %
|
0.5 %
|
|
Grand
Total
|
1,420,000
|
1,371,324
|
1,334,211
|
3.5 %
|
6.4 %
|
100.0 %
|
100.0 %
|
|
|
1 Cox Automotive Industry Insights
data
All percentages are based on raw volume, not daily selling
rate.
About Cox Automotive
Cox Automotive is the world's
largest automotive services and technology provider. Fueled by the
largest breadth of first-party data fed by 2.3 billion online
interactions a year, Cox Automotive tailors leading solutions for
car shoppers, auto manufacturers, dealers, lenders and fleets.
The company has 29,000+ employees on five continents and a
portfolio of industry-leading brands that include
Autotrader®, Kelley Blue
Book®, Manheim®, vAuto®,
Dealertrack®, NextGear Capital™,
CentralDispatch® and FleetNet America®. Cox
Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., a privately
owned, Atlanta-based company with
$22 billion in annual revenue. Visit coxautoinc.com or
connect via @CoxAutomotive on X, CoxAutoInc on
Facebook or Cox-Automotive-Inc on LinkedIn.
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-automotive-forecast-despite-higher-incentives-and-improved-inventory-new-vehicle-sales-growth-remains-modest-in-may-302155152.html
SOURCE Cox Automotive