In the short term, at least, consumers are expected to continue their brisk pace of buying new cars, driven mainly by the desire for a fuel-efficient vehicle.
Kelley Blue Book, an automotive information provider, projects new-vehicle sales to surpass 1,050,000 units and reach a 13.8 million Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) for February 2012, improving 6.4 percent from this time last year.
February sales should be aided by increased inventory levels, improved access to credit, attractive finance offers available to consumers and one additional selling day due to the leap year. New-vehicle sales have remained above 13.6 million SAAR since November 2011; however, Kelley Blue Book analysts believe the annualized sales pace will slow after April.
Ahead of last year
"From a pure volume perspective, in the months ahead sales will continue to exceed last year's figures, but this year there may be more volatility from month-to-month than in 2011," said Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst of automotive insights for Kelley Blue Book. "Sales were remarkably flat from May through November 2011, due to the production woes faced by Toyota and Honda. Now that they are producing vehicles at full capacity, a return to traditional seasonal patterns is likely through 2012."
Consumers shopping now through March should find an improved selection of vehicles available as a result of increased production in January. Manufacturers ramped up production in anticipation of President's Day sales promotions and the onset of the spring selling season beginning in March.
Bigger supply
As of February 1, there were nearly 2.5 million vehicles available for sale on dealer lots. That's equivalent to a 66 days' supply of vehicles overall. This is a significant improvement from the 52 days' supply of vehicles available as of January 1 and should give consumers more bargaining power.
Shoppers will find the biggest inventory gains came from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, each with greater than 80 days' supply of vehicles available.
