Cleveland, OH (August 9, 2013) – Sales of new cars and light trucks in Northern Ohio roared out of the gate to start the second half of the year in July, with sales eclipsing the same month a year prior by 17.79 percent, according to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers Association (GCADA).

“The Northern Ohio market turned in an impressive sales pace, beating last July by nearly 18 percent while extending our sales increase year to date to almost ten percent,” says Louis A. Vitantonio, Jr., president of the GCADA. “Affordable credit, rising consumer confidence and demand are all factors leading to the automotive industry recovery taking place here.”

New car and light truck dealers sold a total of 22,004 vehicles last month, shattering the July of 2012 total of 18,680 vehicles.  Through the end of July of this year, dealerships in Northern Ohio have sold 135,379 vehicles this year versus 123,252 during the same period a year prior, an increase of 9.84 percent.

The news was equally good for used car and light truck sales across Northern Ohio, which increased 13.27 percent when comparing July of this year with July of last year.

Chevrolet continued its hot pursuit of Ford, closing the gap on the number one selling brand in Northern Ohio. Ford sold 3,553 vehicles in the month, an increase of almost 12 percent over July of 2012. Chevrolet rang up an increase of over 37 percent month to month, still coming in second, but selling 3,205 vehicles in the month.

Both of those figures are well above June of 2013’s monthly sales figures, as well.

Toyota also enjoyed a strong month in July of this year, with sales rising 22.24 percent over the same time period last year to grab third place with 1,984 units sold. Honda, which came in fourth with 1,936 units sold, also registered a double-digit sales increase for the month, with sales increasing 10.13 percent.

For the second month in a row, BMW registered a sales increase of over 40 percent in the month, with sales up almost 19 percent for the year to date. Likewise Dodge had a stellar month, with sales rising a whopping 59.66 percent. GMC registered an excellent month as well as sales climbed almost 40 percent when comparing July of 2013 with July of 2012. Subaru also posted a sales increase of almost 47 percent in the month.

23 Brands Up in July (‘13 v. ‘12)

The following brands posted sales increases in July of 2013 versus July of 2012:  Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

23 Brands Up Year-to-Date Through July 2013

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

New-car and truck sales in Northern Ohio
July ‘13 / July ’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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