But prices are still way too high, and automakers are not cutting them nearly enough.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Total new-vehicle sales in November – retail and fleet deliveries by dealers and automakers to end-users – jumped by 10% year-over-year to 1.40 million vehicles, with one extra selling day this November, according to the data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis today.
New-vehicle retail sales – excluding sales to fleets, such as rental fleets – also jumped by 10% year-over-year to 1.15 million units, according to J.D. Power estimates.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales for retail and fleet units, which accounts for seasonal variations and the extra selling day in November, rose by 6.7% year-over-year, to an annual rate of 16.5 million vehicles, the highest since May 2021, when the collapse in new-vehicle inventories was in full swing amid the semiconductor shortages, which resulted in dealers running out of vehicles to sell, plunging sales, spiking prices, and the widespread appearance of odious addendum stickers. By now, inventories have more than doubled, and it’s price-cutting time.
Sales picked up momentum over the past two months as automakers rolled out big incentives and discounts and as dealers made deals on models they were heavily overstocked on. Inventories have surged this year because prices are too high after the price-spike during the pandemic. But some models remain in short supply.
With today’s sales figures, our projection for total sales in 2024 rises to 15.93 million vehicles, the highest since 2019, and just a hair below 1986, which was nearly 40 years ago.
The ugly long-term reality is that new-vehicle sales, in terms of the number of units sold, have been a no-growth business for 25 years, interrupted by deep plunges. Only price increases and moving models upscale have inflated dollar-revenues for automakers in total. So that’s for the US market overall.
But there are exceptions, such as Tesla and Hyundai-Kia whose sales have soared from record to record, eating market share from other automakers, whose sales have plunged (our volume charts by automaker through 2023; update for 2024 coming in a month).
Too-high prices have had the effect of strangling unit-sales during the good times and crashing unit-sales during bad times.
New-vehicle inventories on dealer lots and in transit surged to 3.04 million vehicles at the beginning of November, the highest since May 2020, according to data from Cox Automotive. Supply at the beginning of November rose to 85 days, with 60 days being considered healthy.
Incentive spending by automakers in November soared by 43% year-over-year to $3,291 per vehicle sold on average, amounting to 6.5% of MSRP, according to J.D. Power estimates. Leasing drove some of the incentive spending. J.D. Power estimates that leasing accounted for 23% of retail sales in November.
Incentives still have room to increase as inventories continue to pile up. In 2019, incentive spending reached 10% of MSRP.
Ford, for example, reported today a 14% year-over-year sales increase in November. Battery EV sales surged by 21% year-over-year. Ford is promoting aggressive lease payments, 0% financing on some models, cash rebates on some models, etc. And Ford dealers are throwing in big discounts.
In a sign of things to come, Ford also cut the MSRP of its 2025 model F-series that just went into production, with the base F-150 XLT getting a $2,025 lower MSRP than the 2024 model year, a 4.3% cut of the MSRP, which has never occurred in the history of our illustrious F-150 XLT and Camry LE price index going back to 1990.
Even Stellantis is getting the drift of too-high prices, after a dealer revolt about its pricing policies and mismanagement. Incentives and discounts started flowing. And a few days ago, CEO Carlos Tavares was forced to spend more time with his family. Ram and Jeep dealers, after drowning in overpriced inventory, made some headway with big incentives and discounts, and over the past two months, supply has been coming down from astronomical levels.
“Gradual improvements in more affordable vehicle availability are likely to sustain the momentum of new-vehicle sales, while transaction prices and profitability are projected to moderate slightly,” J.D. Power noted.
And we have seen that in the CPI for new vehicles, which has been edging down ever so slowly and reluctantly for the past two years, after the spike. But it has remained amazingly sticky (unlike used-vehicle prices, which plunged).
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Unsure why anyone buys new now, even though I can afford any new car the values were just silly when I bought my SUV a few months back was easier to buy a low mileage one for cheaper even with a warranty.
Some trucks are asking 100k I’d rather buy more used exotics at those prices than mass produced trash at those prices.
There is a lot of gizmos on cars these days, and the warranty coverage is more important than ever. I agree used cars offer a significant cost advantage, however warranty coverage is worth a lot, and you lose some of it, buying used.
But, but, but… someone HAS to buy new cars, or there won’t be any used cars to buy, LOL
Started shopping for an EV for the wife. Given that she insists on a third row, not a lot of used inventory out there. Carmax has exactly one R1S.
Financially, it’s best to let someone else eat the depreciation on a new car, and buy a 2 to 5 year vehicle for a big savings….
But with the recent insanity of used cars being more expensive than new cars, and the general unavailability of new and decent used cars these days, anything goes!
Good luck to all on car hunting, it’s getting tough all over these days.
I have no problem buying new cars. Zero. None. Zilch. To each their own.
The last used car I purchased was a 1971 Cougar convertible with a 351 4-speed. Since then six new cars. Kept my 1983 for 24 years.
Just bought a new Prius Prime for $1000 below MSRP in Bay Area. By far the best car I have ever owned. Loving the gas free commute.
I always buy or lease new cars. Reasons are:
Need warraty for peace of mind
Need newer cars for safety reasons
Newer cars are cheaper to me.
A point in case is: One can currently lease a 55K Hyundai Ioniq 5 for 2 years/24K miles or so for 6K one pay which comes with free electrify America charging plan.
I’ve never bought a new car, but I’m a big car guy who buys and sells cars as a hobby. Growing up poor I surounded myself with other car guys who all laughed at the the people who “wasted” money on new cars (while we changed clutches and water pumps on weekends). As I got older and richer (and started entering ALL car expenses in spreadsheets) I realized that for “most” people that drive 15K-20K a year and have one car a new car is the best bet (aka lowest all in cost per mile). For people that drive less than 10K a year a used car is often a better value.
A savvy chap knows his used car, he knows his car because he might need to fix it.
Buying a new car with taxes and insurance included is for other people.
When Im walking my neighborhood and see someone out working on their car I go up and shake their hand.
By an EV. Then you won’t need to work on your car.
I’m not sure why people ever buy used. At least anyone with decent credit. Very few people go into buying a car thinking they will sell the car in a couple years. You purchase a vehicle for long term use and eventually decide to trade it in. So the depreciation means nothing. I’ve purchased 8 new vehicles in 15 years. Going on 9 in a couple months.
With the cost of used vehicles being barely below new, it is plain stupid to purchase a vehicle you have little knowledge on how it was actually driven
Does this include new vehicles that are leased?
I think ZIRP and and a push towards more leasing has allowed the automakers to increase prices and push models to higher prices.
“What are my monthly’s?”
Went back and RTFA again and I see it does include leasing.
🤣❤️
I’ve been looking at Ford Super Duty trucks and discovered that while they may be keeping the base MSRP low, they now engage in option bundling. You want the deluxe trim package to get powered seats? Oh, you’re also going to pay for the sport appearance package whether you like it or not.
Sure, the MSRP didn’t go up much (or maybe even down), but now if you want any of the popular options, you’re going to pay through the nose for those options because you’ll also be getting options you don’t care about.
At least on the Super Duties, there are certain options that are no longer even available on the lower trims, so you’ll be paying for the higher trim trucks just to get that “one” thing you really want.
I understand why they do option bundling, but as a tightwad, it really cheeses me off!
What you describe about options packages has always been going on.
Am I the only one that thinks it is funny that there is a “sport appearance package” for the “Ford Super Duty” (probably the least “sporty” vehicle sold in the US. A Super Duty weighs about two tons more than my “sporty” 997 daily driver and a ton more than my “not sporty” Landcruisers and Defender 90). P.S. If I could buy a new 911 that was similar in size and simplicity to the 997 I would buy one, but I’m on my third and I know I can keep getting them used with low miles since so many people buy them and rarely drive them.
Sport trims on pickups are hilarious, as is when they try racing me on the highway.
Bro that thing was built to tow, not go fast.
Thought this was widespread, but are you familiar with the term “bro-dozer”? That’s what we call those around here…
Highest option model, jacked up, oversized tires, and usually containing one douschebag, his girlfriend, and either her kids or besties, cruising around and flexing with huge lagging exceleration, etc, etc…
One of my economic views is that managing the interest rate is like riding a bicycle. You can’t have the handlebars set in the middle. You have to turn left and right etc and also when crashing a bike you overturn one way and then the other before coming off.
Anyway, my suggestion is that the gyrations in the US vehicle market are actually because price signallying got destroyed by the Fed and this is now the long played out consequence as prices and demand wobble around from left to right back to stable.
In fact, as a matter of record Wolf could put a link to the other vehicle articles posted so that the veering from under- to over-supply can be seen.
…so the Fed forgot how to lean and countersteer the economic bicycle?
may we all find a better day.
It would be interesting to see two other data series plotted against new vehicle sales: total vehicles in service, and average age of vehicles. Jalopnic had a headline a few months ago: “The average car on the road is a 14-year -old Toyota Camry” discussing how vehicles have gotten much more reliable and last longer on average than vehicles from the previous century.
But the population also grew by 40% since 1984, or by nearly 100 million. On a per-capita basis, new vehicle sales have collapsed, along with miles driven. I discuss this kind of stuff about once a year, and few people read it, LOL
You have the dip labeled great recession but shouldn’t that be cash for clunkers that lowered the number of vehicles in operation?
No. Cash for clunkers removed only 677,081 vehicles in total. It pales against the drop of 5.8 million vehicles in operation (VIO) over the two-year period in 2009 and 2010, which is what you see in the chart.
The 5.8-million-vehicle drop of VIO in two years was caused by the plunge in new vehicles sales in 2008 and 2009. Over those two years, new vehicle sales plunged by a combined 5.7 million vehicles, and people just kept driving what they had. In other words, the inflow into VIO slowed by 5.7 million.
There is a constant flow of vehicles out of VIO every year: salvage yard or exported (cash for clunkers went to salvage). Those are the only two outflows from VIO. New vehicle sales are the only inflow into VIO.
The math goes like this, using current data: Over the 12 months through June 30 2024: 15.5 million new vehicles were registered (inflow into VIO) and 11.9 vehicles went out of operation (salvage or exported), so VIO grew by 3.6 million vehicles to 291.1 million vehicles in Q2 2024, from 287.5 million in Q2 2023. (Experian registrations data).
I wonder how much these growing golf cart communities are affecting the miles driven. I am new to the neighborhood but my neighbor has been here 12 years. Came with two cars, now they have one car and a golf cart. Some of my neighbors have one car and two golf carts. Anyway, my neighbor claims he has over 30K miles on his golf cart.
I’m not sure how new cars CAN’T sell. People need to drive. They need to commute cross-city from the suburbs to their workplace in another part of the city. Public transportation sure isn’t going to cut it.
I don’t think people really like buying used cars. It’s like books: you’d rather pick up a new fresh clean novel at the drugstore than go to a library and share your book with another person. It’s not so much that people are germaphobes with used cars and “used” books as they just like having their own thing, something to call their own.
Whatever. I always get books from the library instead of buying them.
Everything in life is used, your house, look in the mirror, your used. Everything “new” is actually made from recycled stuff from millions of years ago, just recycled space crud. Even a”new day” is actually tomorrows yesterday today….
A new spouse is the worst, you have no idea what they might do until they’ve been driven for a few years.
So the car industry is alive and well, gas and electric cars buzzing about…288 million vehicles driving our streets in the US…..all of them are are used….the minute you put your fat ass in the driver’s seat and leave the lot.
❤️
You make be used feel good!
I only buy vetted vehicles, ie over 150,000 miles, over ten years old ( minimum age for permanent plates) no major repairs or mebe an engine replaced at 75-80k but in the vehicle long enough to know it’s good now.
“vetted vehicles” !!! Gonna steal that, as in “prices of vetted vehicles”
Wolf, I have some bad news, the article references 1986 as being nearly 30 years ago. Well, unfortunately it was nearly 40 years ago. Feeling old yet?
You know what they day, time flies when you’re having fun.
OOPs. I’m finally gonna hafta throw out my 2014 calendar that I like so much?
1:04 PM 12/4/2024
Dow 45,014.04 308.51 0.69%
S&P 500 6,086.49 36.61 0.61%
Nasdaq 19,735.12 254.21 1.30%
VIX 13.45 0.15 1.13%
Gold 2,674.10 6.20 0.23%
Oil 68.66 -1.28 -1.83%
just a continuation of the relentless meltup which has continued unabated from around october of last year, when rate cut mania started.
the economy has been more resilient than people thought possible, but make no doubt about it, this is not based on the economy or earnings.
p/e for the s&p is now at 31. schiller at close to 39. buffett indicator at 209%. there is no conventional valuation which shows stocks to be fairly valued, yet all of the analysts are saying “but trump will usher in a new era and the economy will boom.”
i’m skeptical, but who knows, maybe i’m too old and idiotic valuations are the new normal.
I think this is a new era and this time is different.
Central banks are more interested in keeping the ‘wealth effect’ going on than taming inflation.
WR has been cranking out articles upon articles talking about stubborn inflation in services but I don’t see any hawkish statement from FEDE about any of these.
I think FED has quietly accepted 3% inflation.
Don’t believe me, just believe the data and the markets.
FED won’t do anything to cause even a slightest amount of turbulence in the market.
Financial conditions have never been this loose and look at the right credit spread.
If it becomes clear to markets that the Fed accepts 3% inflation long-term, the 10-year Treasury yield will be between 5% and 6%, and mortgage rates between 7% and 8%. And prices will adjust to that.
Right now, markets are still convinced that the Fed will push down inflation to 2% and keep it there long term, which is why long-term Treasury yields are this low. If the perception changes to 3%, then just add a percentage point to the 10-year yield, which will take it to over 5% and in direction of 6%.
wolf, maybe so, but if markets were convince that the fed wanted to preserve the value of the currency, would people be forking over 103,000 usd for a bitcoin?
the rush to buy assets, any assets, at whatever price, doesn’t seem like an environment where people trust the currency.
Franz G
Crypto is a gambling token and nothing else. Speculation has gone totally nuts. Some crypto guy paid $5 million for a banana and ate it, just to get in the news. There is no more reason for any market move other than grater-fool-betting in hyperdrive. Don’t try to interpret fundamentals into this craziness. These people don’t even know what fundamentals are and they don’t care. Nothing to do with fundamentals.
I dont think FED will openly agree to move inflation target to 3%. That would send long term rates much higher. But Markets have optimism (false?) that FED will always come to rescue if Stocks/Asset prices drop.
With 14 years QE and 800 B to 9T balance sheet expansion, all conventional wisdom and indicators became useless. One day they may matter again but who knows when that day will come.
Even Sept jobs report scare was false alarm, FED went ahead with 75BP in 2 meetings. Sure FED had some room to move lower. Markets are still expecting another cut in December meeting. Look at the rallies after Election Results.
New Administration coming is openly discussing about reducing FED’s independence. If they force FED to stop QT and even start QE, Govt interest cost can come down. Hell with inflation. Asset prices will continue to go higher and higher.
In DEALBOOK summit today, Andrew asked Powell, does Govt interest cost drives/influences FED’s decision on rates, Powell said no, never. But can we really take that answer on face value now? I mean new Treasury pick Scott is saying they can confirm Next FED chair now itself and start using his/her guidance and create a shadow FED.
Only time will tell if FED will stay the course (next 1.5 year and beyond Powell).
I believe it’s a matter of mass psychosis. As we switch political parties every 4 years a new group of investors have high hopes that just maybe things will work out. This is a perpetual motion economic driver…
@Franz G:
you state “…yet all of the analysts are saying “but trump will usher in a new era and the economy will boom.”
And last year it was “but AI will usher in a new era and the economy will boom.”
It is always some new reason for Wall Street to hype more and more bubble.
You forgot BTC= $103,400 at 00.15 EST.
It’s a video game, not an asset. Listen to WOLF.
I know there are some motorcycle riders on this site. Has anybody seen what is going on with “KTM motorcycles” right now. They were flying high just a few short years ago. Now… not so much. :-(
Ghost of McQueen-…from what I’ve gathered so far, Pierer appears to have waay over-bet production of KTM-group motorbikes on sales continuing forever at their dizzy pandemic pace, while not adequately dealing with engine warranty issues (excess of 80k unsold units as we speak), and related overexpanded production issues for high-end bicycles and e-bikes. (Not looking good for the KTM/GasGas MotoGP teams going forward, either, and happening when Liberty Media, owners of F1, are trying to navigate their purchase of MotoGP through EU scrutiny…). Layoffs coming with mutterings of a possible local Austrian state government bailout if ‘internal restructuring’ fails. imho, another instance of an industry Captain’s vision obscuring the necessity of seriously contemplating thorough and frequent SWOT analyses…
may we all find a better day.
It seems like few younger (under 40) people today have an interest in cars and even less have an interest in motorcycles. We are going to be down in Monterey this Christmas and just got the bad news that the Talbott Motorcycle Museum in Carmel Valley just recently closed for good…
Apt- as someone who spent a majority of his career in the moto sector, as far as the U.S. market is concerned I can only concur…
may we all find a better day.
Yup, I concur as well. Times are changing. The great Malcolm Smith passed away a few days ago.
I will be countering this trend – I’m 34 and looking to get a deal on a Honda Scrambler this winter.
Winter is here in Minneapolis. The motorbike is in the garage on a battery-tender.
But that first springtime ride. On a warm, sunny day in March. Yeah, it always feels so, so good.
GofMcQ – r.i.p., Malcolm, we’ll not see his like again…
may we all find a better day.
I think motorized toys like ATVs, watercraft, and motorcycles are largely bought by lower to middle income Americans. They’ve been hit hard by inflation and high financing rates.
Toy manufacturers are feeling it. For example, ATV/watercraft/motorcycle maker Polaris Industries is in the middle of a stock price downfall.
One exception to this:
In cities, many folks opt for motorbikes & scooters instead of a car. The former is a much more practical vehicle in an urban environment and costs a lot less.
None of the generic GY6 motor scooters that buzz around Boston are toys for the rich by any means – folks with money buy name brand.
Dirt bikes are under attack in my state of California. This is a huge market and as the birth place of motocross the future looks bleak.
Two stroke motorcycles can longer be registered in the state starting in 2025. Only 2021 and older bikes will be grandfathered in so not sure what these dealers are going to do with their new inventory.
Not many people want to spend $13K+ on the dirt bikes that KTM is peddling. They are great bikes but less reliable and higher maintenance than their Japanese counterparts. Because of the strict emissions rules here you don’t have much choice and almost need to get a plated dual sport bike moving forward.
The ultimate goal is make everything electric which will cost even more money. I bought my son an electric dirt bike last year and tried to register it at the DMV. I was able to get a title but stuck with a red sticker(non-compliant). Why? – because it doesn’t meet emission standards. Wrap your head around that one.
Motocross parks are closing down due to liability (cannot get insurance). The OHV parks are cracking down on out-of-state registered bikes.
KTM is selling too many variants of essentially the same bike with different stickers (except for linkage on the Husky). I am in the market for a bike but I’m old and can afford it. I don’t think I could sleep well purchasing a new KTM given their current state.
I think I will just have the transmission rebuilt in my 1998 GMT400 body Chevrolet pickup and see if I can get another 100k miles out of it…
Figure I have one more car purchase in this life time. Gonna try to stretch it out a few more years.
A Dodge drop a transmission at 130 k. Two days later, said truck was stolen from the parking lot. The police said they would log it into their surveillance system.
Two days later the police called to tell me they had recovered the vehicle parked on a side street.
In there, with a holy card, was my Grandfathers silver St. Christopher medal which he claimed helped him to survive WW1.
Replaced the manual transmission and clutch in my GTO seven years ago. Best $3,800 I’ve spent on all my cars in my lifetime, for a fun/cost factor ratio. It’s been a lot cheaper in the long run of ownership rather than buying another performance ride.
“0% financing on some models”
The ghost of ZIRP lingers.
I wonder how long it will be before 0% promotional consumer financing finally dies off.
Ford offered 0% financing in my day, 1980s and 1990s, when interest rates were higher. It does that through Ford Credit. You could choose %0 or a cash rebate. It’s just another incentive.
0% promotional offers are always possible.
Sellers can just jack up the price to account for the interest. It’s an illusion. In every one of those offers you can usually buy the thing for less by declining the 0% “deal”.
I reached a point where purchasing a new car was the best alternative.
In the early days, changing the starter, in the snow.
Another potential outcome of the proposed tariffs is that the influx of manufacturing will pollinate our humanity. The everyday people, the source of our vitality.
Not sure what I mean.
From the perspective of a WW2 baby. Money was tight. The GI compensation floated us into an incredible educational system.
The everyday people are the bedrock upon which this hypothetical edifice of justice rests. Naivette protects us.
The new vehicles are currently overpriced with a backdrop of falling sales.
One would think the OEM’s would lower their price point to move the inventory which is dying on the vine.
It will get serious in February if you can wait that long.
Detroit Auto Manufacturing has lost it’s Sense of Style. It has also lost the reason it became profitable and essential. Back in time they changed Styling each year and every October the Old Air Defense Spotlights would show up and light up the sky. It was a time where families of all economic backgrounds and means went to see the New Vehicles. The wealthy would buy higher end models while the factory workers would buy the base models with less accessory yet afford and it made them feel proud. Even on the Detroit Industrial Vehicle Company produced something of Style that the Milk, Bread and Vegetable Men drove with pride while selling their product door to door. It really wasn’t all about money it was something much more. We have become to complicated and we make something that is expensive and unwanted.
I would like a Pick up Truck Base Standard Cab, 6 cylinder, 4 x 4, Bench Seat so a pretty girl can sit close as I drive down the American Road with a few dollars left in pocket.
Oh to have just a simple pick up. There are retired guys in my neighborhood that have the early 2000’s model GM trucks. These trucks will go when they go. they have zero interest in a new one.
You just described me. 2002, 8.1L (the last of the big blocks), will pull anything I want and it’s cheap and easy to fix. I’ll drive it ’til I can’t do so any longer.
I’m not a pickup guy (love sports cars) but I too am planning on driving my current car till the day I die.
Got the ’04 ZO6 for sporty duties. Also cheap and simple to fix.
Great article summarizing the current vehicle scene, as well as some equally great comments bringing nostalgia and reality.
Driving 5K miles around SE USA a couple decades ago, sitting close on our ’84 3/4T pickup bench seat, and ALL the old folks waving to us IS still a great memory!
Wish we had never sold that vehicle, as I knew the name of everything on and in it and how to fix them,,, but,
as WR has pointed out many times, new ones are much more efficient and especially much safer, so we adapt, eh
I know it’s not a crypto article, but maybe you could write one about the BTC holdings of the people that have Trump’s ear, and how they’ll benefit from US gov selling $100B of gold to start a $100B Federal BTC reserve. Or maybe knowing you it’ll be more fun to wait until the rug gets pulled and that there’s never going to be a country much bigger than El Salvador that starts holding BTC.
It’ll be fun either way!
I don’t comment on stupid-ass campaign bullshit, ever. That stuff is designed to buy the votes of braindead morons. I save my breath to eat my porridge. But if they get serious about it, which I doubt, I’m going to go out on a digital slash-and-burn rampage against it.
Articles like this always get me thinking about “fleet -miles” and the useful lifespans of new cars, etc.
There are more people in the US than ever, but are we driving more miles? And then, while forty years ago rolling the odometer to 100,000 was something special, now cars easily hit 200k and some far more. I see used Toyotas with 300k or more still trading hands for thousands of dollars.
Anyway, at some point every new car rolls its last mile, maybe in the hands of its sixth owner delivering pizzas 25 years later. Something new has to come in at the top of the food chain to keep the trickle down going, and apparently those high rollers pays lot more now than they used to. A $60k car that’s got 300k good miles in it is better than a $30k car that has problems at 120k I guess.
“There are more people in the US than ever, but are we driving more miles?”
No:
Miles Driven Eke Out Record after Covid-Plunge: People Drive Less, but there Are More People
And this:
Gasoline Demand Has a Long-Term Structural Problem in the US: Plunging Per-Capita Consumption
I wonder if some of the reduction in the number of miles driven per person of driving age is not partially due to the advent of GPS, and the reduction of useless miles driven because now we know where we are going.
LOL, like people didn’t know how to find the shortest way with a map before in-car GPS navigation systems? How stupid do you think people are? Maybe young people today don’t know how to deal with a map anymore. But back then, everyone knew and used them.
No, per-capita miles driven are down for a variety of structural reasons, including: ecommerce (no more driving around from mall to mall… one delivery van drives a lot less than 20 SUVs driving from mall to mall), the increased use of partial or full work from home that started many years ago; the use of mass transit in big densely populated congested cities, increased car-pooling, the continued shift to flying rather than driving for vacations, etc.
I was going to suggest e-commcerce as the cause too. One Amazon van takes how many cars off the road in a given neighborhood? Probably a lot.
I have customers who live down the street from my company’s retail stores yet still place shipping orders on our website. It’s even funnier when they pay extra for UPS blue or red label, which happens from time to time.
DM: Why Americans aren’t buying as many cars anymore
The car market has changed dramatically in the last decade, so much so that most new vehicles on sale today are not actually ‘cars.’
Buying a new one now usually means shopping for an SUV or a truck, which are a different category of vehicle.
Traditional cars, such as sedans, now only account for 19 percent of the overall new vehicle market, according to car-shopping site Edmunds.
This is a record low – and a sharp drop from a decade ago when they made up 47 percent of the market.
SUVs, meanwhile, are now at a record high of 58 percent of new vehicles for sale, as Americans are increasingly opting for more space and more features.
‘Americans love big SUVs, and those have long been the most profitable,’ Pat Ryan, CEO of the car-shopping app CoPilot, told Money.com.
When manufacturers struggled with supply-chain issues during the Covid-19 pandemic, they prioritized these moneymaking vehicles.
That means there are now more than six dozen SUV models on the market, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Yes, but many SUVs are classified as “car SUVs” by the EPA, meaning they’re essentially a car, a hatchback, on a car chassis with a car powertrain, and a car angle of approach, etc. but have a higher roofline and are marketed as “trucks” to bring in more money. But they’re cars. The EPA distinguishes these “car SUVs” from “truck SUVs” and car SUVs are classified by the EPA as cars, while “truck SUVs” are classified as trucks. So if you add the car SUVs and the sedans together, not all that much as changed. The distinction between them exists only for marketing purposes.
https://wolfstreet.com/2024/11/25/americans-buy-ever-bigger-more-powerful-but-more-fuel-efficient-trucks-suvs-and-cars-evs-escalate-the-horsepower-war/
We discussed the “car SUV” issue in detail including examples, in the comments:
https://wolfstreet.com/2024/11/25/americans-buy-ever-bigger-more-powerful-but-more-fuel-efficient-trucks-suvs-and-cars-evs-escalate-the-horsepower-war/#comment-616138
A take on an age old story:
My banana stand has full shelves and the sidewalk full of people passing by , stopping to look, then moving on. My price of $5 per banana on a $2 cost gets me a nice profit. Heck I’m meeting the price of Kroger bananas down the street so must all be good.
New shipments of bananas from my plantation is due next week and the current inventory of bananas is starting to look pretty ripe.
Gee, what do I do to move the inventory and keep the banana plantation, and my employees going?
Buy some monkeys to eat the bananas?
And then sell the monkeys
The problem with this take is that Bananamax and Bananavana have discovered that you can hoard all the bananas indefinitely until the right monkey comes along
the fact that trump is taking credit and bragging about bitcoin’s price rise says to me he’s learned nothing from the past 8 years. he was elected because the masses are unhappy about inflation and immigration.
the masses that elected him don’t care about stocks or crypto. they care about grocery, insurance, health care, and housing costs.
if his entire presidency is going to be about hyping wall street, a lot of people are going to be very disappointed.
Wolf –
YOU funded HIS campaign. From now on, you’ll know the secret – it’s a ‘T.’ But now you know the rest of the story!
That guy is funny. Hilarious clip. Made my day. And I guess lots of Tesla owners are feeling that way now. But I/we don’t own or drive a Tesla, and never have. So personally, I’m just an outsider watching the clip and laughing.
I’ve noticed that used hybrids are still a ton of money even with 200k+ miles on them. Landed a new career that is 6 miles from my house so I plan to offload my 2000 Jetta TDI and get something I could commute in on battery alone (I never thought I’d be saying this).
But a 2012 Prius with 200k on it and the average price is 8-12k? Good Lord. It usually needs a headgasket at that point, the hybrid battery’s useful life is spent, and a host of other issues (brakes/power booster failure, worn out suspension arms), it’s worth 5k at most. Yet no one wants to budge even $500 bucks. The Jetta owes me nothing, I’ll keep surfing along until someone desperate to sell falls in my lap.
I haven’t bought a brand new car since 1989 — I don’t see myself repeating the experience any time soon, if ever. I buy low-to-mid mileage used cars and drive them until they are prohibitive to repair. My current car is 13 years old and going strong.
Sorry, not sorry, car manufacturers …