Auto Sales Slip and Auto Loans Follow!

[Dec 3, 2008.]

 

If you haven’t noticed, the auto industry isn’t showing consumers that they are doing very well these days.  This poor performance on the side of auto industry has really put a damper on consumer confidence which has caused a sever decrease in auto sales as a whole, leading to a decrease in auto loans.

Bloomberg.com reported that  “New vehicles probably sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11 million in November, down 32 percent from a year earlier, based on a Bloomberg News survey of 26 analysts and economists. In October the annual selling rate was 10.6 million.”

November sales were higher at a time when you could expect sales to be slightly slower but this would be due mainly to “record high” incentives from the automakers and “remarkably lower gas prices,” said Jesse Toprak, director of industry analysis for automotive research firm Edmunds.com in Santa Monica, California.

Ford’s Employee pricing” was back and GM’s semi-regular “Red Tag” sale were a sample of the promotions ran by each company starting mid November. Chrysler, following suit, and promised $6,000 cash back on its 2008 300C sedan.  Foreign automakers are now competing for what business remains by offering zero percent auto loans among other promotions.

Bloomberg.com also provided some good data “U.S. automakers likely held 47 percent of the market in November, according to a report by Edmunds.com Nov. 24. That figure would match the companies’ market share in October, according to Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.”

This is the hidden good news as because stabilization seems to bee a theme when looking into ways to combat the struggles of these auto giants.  The more consistent they can be the brighter the future can be for both the auto industry and the US economy.

 

About Author:

Brent Lane is a Mortgage Consultant in Roseville, California. He helps homeowners in California with their mortgage financing and writes on his BLOG at www.thelanegroup.blogspot.com