FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sara Panza
Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association
440.746.1500
New Car and Truck Sales Grow Despite Economic Concerns, Tight Inventories
Cleveland, OH (August 12, 2011) – While retail sales of new cars and light trucks continued to grow in July, sales slowed to 3.8 percent when comparing July of 2011 to July of 2010, according to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association (GCADA). In July of last year, dealerships in Northern Ohio sold 16,048 units compared to 16,669 in July of this year.
“The market has slowed somewhat in terms of the strong double-digit growth we experienced earlier this year,” says Louis A. Vitantonio, president of the GCADA. “For the year to date, however, sales are still up more than 23 percent, when removing sales figures from the discontinued Pontiac and Saturn brands.
“Much of the slow down came in some upscale brands, which could be due in part to the anxiety over the debt ceiling issue and what its impact might have on the stock market,” said Vitantonio. “We also saw some drop off in some offshore brands, and much of this is due to restricted inventories caused by the tsunami disaster in Japan. However, production should be up to full capacity this month, and dealers are reporting that inventory is arriving.”
Despite concerns over the economy, there is still strong consumer demand for both new and used vehicles. The average vehicle on the road today is 10.2 years old compared with 8.9 years old in 2000. While prices on some late model used cars are starting to moderate, many late-model used vehicles are still commanding their highest values in years, which means trade-ins have more value than in years past.
A total of 22 brands registered sales increases for the month, when comparing sales to the same period a year prior. For the year to date, 26 brands are up from January through July when comparing sales to the same period in 2010.
In terms of total units sold for the month, Ford retained its number one spot over Chevrolet, selling 2,885 units compared to 2,552 for Chevy. Toyota grabbed third spot with 1,380 units, while Honda re-entered the top four with sales of 1,215 units.
22 Brands Up in July (‘11 v. ‘10)
The following 22 brands posted sales increases in July 2011 versus July 2010: Audi, Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Saab, Subaru, Suzuki, Volkswagen and Volvo.
26 Brands Up Year to Date through July (‘11 v. ‘10)
The following 25 brand posted sales increases for the year to date through July of this year versus the same period in 2010: Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Saab, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.
New-car and truck sales in Northern Ohio
July ‘11 / July ’10 & YTD
|
|
July 11
|
July 10
|
July
% Chg.
|
YTD
July 11
|
YTD
July 10
|
YTD
July % Chg.
|
|
ACURA
|
112
|
131
|
-14.50%
|
993
|
842
|
17.93%
|
|
AUDI
|
114
|
65
|
75.38%
|
710
|
701
|
1.28%
|
|
BMW
|
178
|
205
|
-13.17%
|
1366
|
1141
|
19.72%
|
|
BUICK
|
400
|
322
|
24.22%
|
2937
|
1738
|
68.99%
|
|
CADILLAC
|
248
|
276
|
-10.14%
|
1960
|
1103
|
77.70%
|
|
CHEVROLET
|
2552
|
2259
|
12.97%
|
19032
|
13219
|
43.97%
|
|
CHRYSLER
|
438
|
295
|
48.47%
|
2527
|
1566
|
61.37%
|
|
DODGE
|
773
|
542
|
42.62%
|
4808
|
2871
|
67.47%
|
|
FIAT
|
26
|
0
|
0.00%
|
88
|
0
|
0.00%
|
|
FORD
|
2885
|
2768
|
4.23%
|
20669
|
17102
|
20.86%
|
|
FREIGHTLINER
|
29
|
9
|
222.22%
|
151
|
116
|
30.17%
|
|
GMC
|
537
|
359
|
49.58%
|
3798
|
2326
|
63.28%
|
|
HINO
|
1
|
4
|
-75.00%
|
17
|
18
|
-5.56%
|
|
HONDA
|
1214
|
1554
|
-21.88%
|
10750
|
10004
|
7.46%
|
|
HYUNDAI
|
848
|
871
|
-2.64%
|
6125
|
4874
|
25.67%
|
|
INFINITI
|
75
|
115
|
-34.78%
|
671
|
416
|
61.30%
|
|
INTERNATIONAL
|
36
|
24
|
50.00%
|
337
|
218
|
54.59%
|
|
ISUZU
|
8
|
4
|
100.00%
|
39
|
23
|
69.57%
|
|
JAGUAR
|
8
|
12
|
-33.33%
|
47
|
54
|
-12.96%
|
|
JEEP
|
640
|
495
|
29.29%
|
3545
|
2404
|
47.46%
|
|
KENWORTH
|
23
|
1
|
2200.00%
|
68
|
25
|
172.00%
|
|
KIA
|
1190
|
841
|
41.50%
|
7745
|
4834
|
60.22%
|
|
LAND ROVER
|
16
|
15
|
6.67%
|
162
|
164
|
-1.22%
|
|
LEXUS
|
135
|
216
|
-37.50%
|
1157
|
1505
|
-23.12%
|
|
LINCOLN
|
169
|
112
|
50.89%
|
1054
|
944
|
11.65%
|
|
LOTUS
|
0
|
2
|
-100.00%
|
5
|
7
|
-28.57%
|
|
MACK
|
3
|
6
|
-50.00%
|
75
|
46
|
63.04%
|
|
MAZDA
|
379
|
438
|
-13.47%
|
2399
|
2866
|
-16.29%
|
|
MERCEDES BENZ
|
277
|
195
|
42.05%
|
1525
|
1271
|
19.98%
|
|
MERCURY
|
0
|
265
|
-100.00%
|
30
|
1479
|
-97.97%
|
|
MINI
|
40
|
30
|
33.33%
|
245
|
185
|
32.43%
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS
|
9
|
4
|
125.00%
|
40
|
51
|
-21.57%
|
|
MITSUBISHI
|
131
|
117
|
11.97%
|
945
|
672
|
40.63%
|
|
NISSAN
|
891
|
882
|
1.02%
|
5975
|
4697
|
27.21%
|
|
PETERBILT
|
14
|
23
|
-39.13%
|
104
|
90
|
15.56%
|
|
PONTIAC
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
4
|
139
|
-97.12%
|
|
PORSCHE
|
47
|
27
|
74.07%
|
262
|
167
|
56.89%
|
|
SAAB
|
23
|
8
|
187.50%
|
200
|
91
|
119.78%
|
|
SATURN
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
3
|
165
|
-98.18%
|
|
SMART
|
6
|
7
|
-14.29%
|
36
|
37
|
-2.70%
|
|
STERLING
|
0
|
3
|
-100.00%
|
0
|
16
|
-100.00%
|
|
SUBARU
|
474
|
420
|
12.86%
|
2976
|
2626
|
13.33%
|
|
SUZUKI
|
17
|
13
|
30.77%
|
83
|
83
|
0.00%
|
|
TOYOTA
|
1310
|
1724
|
-24.01%
|
9879
|
11027
|
-10.41%
|
|
UD
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
2
|
5
|
-60.00%
|
|
VOLKSWAGEN
|
356
|
353
|
0.85%
|
2251
|
1946
|
15.67%
|
|
VOLVO
|
37
|
36
|
2.78%
|
332
|
271
|
22.51%
|
|
WESTERN STAR
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
7
|
1
|
600.00%
|
|
Total Cars & Trucks
|
16669
|
16048
|
3.87%
|
118134
|
96146
|
22.87%
|
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.
# # #
