Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. sales fell 18 percent last month as it battled lingering effects of the quake. With a production recovery and a string of new models, the group expects to stop five straight months of losses and post year-over-year sales gains in October and the rest of the year. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Don Johnson, General Motors’ U.S. sales chief, expects slow growth to continue.
“Right now, the pent-up demand due to age of vehicles is what’s keeping the nice steady, slow growth going,” he said.
GM sales rose 20 percent, for their biggest increase since April. Among the biggest companies, Chrysler set the pace with a 27 percent advance. Nissan North America rose 25 percent.
Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, also cited growing demand.
“There is plenty of pent-up demand in the light-vehicle marketplace,” he said. “Now that an ample inventory is being restored, sales should pick up more completely in the fourth quarter.”
Jesse Toprak, vice president of TrueCar.com, took a more sober view of a month that in his words “defied gravity.”
“All the normal predictors of strong car sales — jobs, new-home sales, consumer confidence and the stock market — were all negative in September,” he said. “This gain is despite the economy.”
Dealer data on sales that TrueCar.com tracked showed buyers are looking for value, but have a new attitude.
“It has changed from ‘I’m going to wait until the economy improves’ to ‘I still don’t know about the economy, but I’m going to buy a new car anyhow,'” Toprak said. “People are buying because they have to: Their lease is up, they have another child or their car broke down.”
