NEWS RELEASE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sara Panza
Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association
440.746.1500

Despite Record Winter Weather
New Vehicle Sales Grow In February

Cleveland, OH (March 11, 2015) –  Despite record setting frigid temperatures in February, new vehicles sales continued to grow across Northern Ohio in February, with franchised new vehicle dealers selling 13,791 in the month, an increase of 1.34 percent when comparing February of 2015 with the same month a year prior. For the first two months of this year, sales are .92 percent ahead of last year, according to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association (GCADA).

“With the adverse weather we experienced in February, many dealers were expecting an off month,” said Louis A. Vitantonio, president of the GCADA. “However, our sales continued to climb, albeit slightly, over last year’s pace. Several market factors are contributing to our growth this year, including serious demand in the market, an improving economy, lower overall fuel prices, and the better availability of financing.

“In addition, we also anticipate that the Cleveland Auto Show will provide a nice bump to new vehicle sales in March to kick off the spring selling season.”

Truck sales drove the industry, with new vehicle dealers reporting a 12.1 percent in February of 2015 over February of 2014. For the year-to-date, truck sales are up almost 9 percent.

Ford took home the honors as Northern Ohio’s best-selling brand, ringing up sales of 2,408 vehicles this February. Chevrolet was right behind the Blue Oval, tallying 1,912 vehicles sold in the month. Honda had an excellent month to finish in third, selling 1, 135 vehicles in February an increase of 12.27 percent over the same month in 2014. Toyota came in fourth, but also enjoyed double-digit growth in the month registering a sales increase of 10.26 percent. 

Acura, BMW, GMC, Jaguar, Jeep, Lexus, Mini, Porsche, Subaru and Volvo each enjoyed strong double-digit growth last month over February of 2014.

17 Brands Up in February (‘15 v. ‘14)
The following brands posted sales increases in February of 2015 versus February of 2014: Acura, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Honda, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Mini, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

16 Brands Up Year-To-Date (’15 v. ’14)
The following brands have posted sales increases year-to-date through February of 2014: Acura, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Honda, Jaguar, Jeep, Lexus, Lincoln, Mini, Nissan, Porsche and Subaru.

New-car and truck sales in Northern Ohio
Feb ‘15 / Feb ‘14 & YTD

Retail sales figures are based on vehicle registration reports from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.  Vehicle sales data includes the counties of: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Wayne.

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