January 20, 2014
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Outlook Improves; Young Buyers Missing
Car shoppers are more incentivized to buy by promotions that deliver actual cash back – even if the total cost of the car is higher. A new study asked shoppers which incentives and rewards most motivated them to make car or tire purchases, take test drives and book car services.
GM, Volkswagen Prices Set Records
TrueCar.com estimated that the average transaction price for light vehicles in the U.S. was $30,786 in December, down $35 from November and down $201 from December 2012. Two automakers – General Motors and Volkswagen achieved record highs for their average transaction price in December, reaching $34,634 and $36,433 respectively.
Small Business Owners Upbeat About New Year
A recent survey finds that 70 percent of small business owners are feeling optimistic, up from 55 percent a year ago.
Photo by Ted Craig GOVERNMENT MOTORS: William Strauss, senior economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, tells attendees of the recent Society of Automotive Analysts conference that the economy will improve and inflation will stay low. By Ted Craig
DETROIT – U.S. auto sales will remain strong this year, but young buyers will continue to sit on the sidelines. Analysts speaking at the recent Society of Automotive Analysts conference expect new-car sales to stay
just below the 16 million mark this year. That’s a good year at any time and a vast improvement from the lowest point of the downturn. But the numbers could be even higher if more young people would buy cars. Brian Johnson, senior equity analyst for Barclays,
showed the average age of new-car buyers has climbed in the past five years. While much is made in the media of a lack of interest in cars among young people, the analysts agreed this played only a small part in their absence. Jessica Caldwell, senior director for industry analy-
sis, Edmunds.com, said the main issue is young people are “lifestyle constrained.” She said an analysis of buyers in North Dakota showed young people still buy cars when jobs are plentiful and mass transit is rare. Caldwell said the lack of young buyers shows up in Continued on page 22
Rush - Dated Material
Certified Pre-Owned Sales Top 2 Million for 2013 It proved a strong end of the year for used-car sales. Total used unit retail sales rose more than 4 percent in December, bringing the full-year total to just under 42 million, according to CNW. December’s gain was led by an 11 percent increase in sales by franchised dealers. AutoData Corp reports that December certified preowned sales were 171,280, a December record, and were up 9.4 percent from December 2012. CPO sales were down 3 percent from November. There were 25 selling days in December and 26 in December 2012 and November.
THINK FASTER
Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Audi had their best month ever. Fourth quarter sales were 525,693, a fourth quarter high, and were up 16.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2012, but down 2.8 percent from the third quarter of 2013. Sales for 2013 reached an all-time high of 2,112,670, passing the 2 million mark for the first time. Sales were up 15.1 percent from 2012. Audi, Ford/Lincoln/Mercury, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen posted their highest annual certified sales totals.
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