Paul Martin's Business Update - September 16th, 2014

After taking a month off, we returned to car dealerships in a big way this summer.

Figures on sales of new vehicles in July have just been released and they show quite a departure from June’s performance. Back in June, dealers were wondering what was happening….the number of units leaving lots had fallen from the five-and-a-half thousand range to just under 5,000 in the month. That was a decline of roughly ten-percent.

We saw a similar track back in February when things were slow – likely because of the tough winter conditions – but after a slow start in March, sales rebounded back to a more normal level.

It turns out that history repeated itself this summer. June was slow and then July rebounded – back to the 5,500 units range.

The bulk of volume in this province falls into the truck category. This includes SUVs as well as half-tons. They account for 70 or 75 per cent of the units leaving dealer lots. July produced similar a result, signs that consumer confidence has not softened….it’s just that we’re a little streaky in our buying patterns.

http://martincharlton.ca/?p=827 #automobile #cars #vans #trucks