NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT:

Sara Panza

Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association

440.746.1500

Retail Auto Industry Continues to Grow in February

Cleveland, OH (March 11, 2013) – Despite coming up against impressive 2012 numbers, retail automotive sales continued to grow in February of this year thanks to a successful Cleveland Auto Show. According to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association (GCADA), sales of new cars and light trucks climbed over two percent in February of 2013 compared to the same month a year prior. For the year to date, sales are up 9.24 percent.

“This is especially good news given the fact that we are coming up against some very strong growth numbers exhibited last year,” said Louis A. Vitantonio, president of the GCADA. “In addition, we had one extra day of reporting in February of 2012 due to the leap year.

“From the early reports we are receiving from our member dealers following the Cleveland Auto Show, we are confident that March will be an even stronger sales month.”

Franchised new car and light truck dealers across Northern Ohio sold 13,332 new cars and light trucks in February of 2013 versus 13,036 the same month a year prior. For the year-to-date, dealers sold 31,787 vehicles this year compared to 29,098 after two months last year.

In addition to the positive impact of the Cleveland Auto Show, lease offerings, more available credit and high used vehicle values should continue to drive sales through the first half of the year.

Ford remained in first place in terms of total vehicles sold in the month, with 2,704 units sold, an increase of almost seven percent for the month. Chevrolet came in second with 2,044 vehicles sold, a healthy increase of more than ten percent when comparing February 2013 with February of 2012. Toyota took over third place from Honda, selling 1,081 vehicles in the month compared with 1,040 for Honda.

19 Brands Up in February (‘13 v. ‘12)

The following 19 brands posted sales increases in February 2013 versus February 2012: Acura, Audi, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo.

24 Brands Up Year-to-Date Through February 2013

The following 24 brands posted sales increases for the year-to-date: Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

New-car and truck sales in Northern Ohio

February ‘13 / February ’12 & 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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