Some analysts initially predicted that November sales would drop as post-hurricane sales slowed in Texas and Florida. But Black Friday promotions — which began in early November — helped lure buyers to dealerships.
Black Friday Deals Likely Boosted Auto Sales
DETROIT (AP) — Black Friday deals and strong consumer confidence could push auto sales higher in November despite waning demand for post-hurricane replacement vehicles.
Some analysts initially predicted that November sales would drop as post-hurricane sales slowed in Texas and Florida. But Black Friday promotions — which began in early November — helped lure buyers to dealerships.
Fiat Chrysler was offering up to $16,000 off its 300 sedan, while Hyundai was kicking $3,750 off the price of a Santa Fe SUV. Car buying site KBB.com said automotive credit applications rose 42 percent on Black Friday compared to other Fridays in November.
Automakers were offering an average of $3,700 to $3,800 in incentives per vehicle in November. As prices creep up, deals are creeping up with them, analysts say. The trend will likely continue in 2018, when U.S. sales are expected to drop and automakers will be keen to hold on to their market share.
Sales were buoyed by strong U.S. consumer confidence, which was at its highest level since November 2000, according to the Conference Board.
Car buying site Edmunds.com predicted November sales will rise 3.5 percent over last year to 1.4 million vehicles.
Here are other details about November sales:
- Toyota sales fell 3 percent even though the revamped Camry sedan and the RAV4 small SUV posted record November numbers. Increased truck and SUV sales were offset by steep declines in car, with Toyota cars falling nearly 9 percent and Lexus luxury car sales off 10 percent. Sales of the Corolla compact car, usually a top-seller, tumbled 32 percent while Highlander midsize SUV sales also dropped by 10 percent.
- Honda sales rose 8 percent with a slight gain in cars and a record November for trucks and SUVs.
- Sales fell 3 percent for General Motors Co.
- Sales dropped 4 percent for Fiat Chrysler.
- Volkswagen brand sales were down 1.6 percent.
- Sales jumped 7 percent at Ford Motor Co. on strong demand for trucks and SUVs.
- Nissan didn’t report its sales due to a computer problem, but said preliminary data indicated they would be up 14 percent.
Comments (1)
Cheryl Thorne says:
December 3, 2017 at 8:33 am
Holiday Auto commercials are nauseating and do nothing but confuse viewers from these followers. I wish Lexus would have trademarked this when they were the first one to do this back in 1988..