NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sara Panza
Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association
440.746.1500
Truck and SUV Sales Drive
Northern Ohio Market
Cleveland, OH (March 7, 2017) – Truck and SUV sales continued to drive the new vehicle market in Northern Ohio in February, following a market trend that was seen across all of 2016. According to figures released today by the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association (GCADA), dealers sold 16,213 new vehicles in February of this year, compared with 16,128 vehicles sold across the same time frame a year ago, an increase of just 0.53 percent.
“The market in February was basically flat when comparing this year with last,” said Louis A. Vitantonio, president of the GCADA. “However, we continue to see almost explosive growth in truck and SUV sales. It’s obviously a trend that is being driven by moderate fuel prices, but crossovers and SUVs also offer increased functionality. Crossovers and smaller SUVs are also a lot easier to handle today than they ever were in the past.”
Franchised new vehicle dealers sold a total of 7,348 trucks and SUVs in February of 2017, compared with 5,683 a year ago. That’s an increase of more than 29 percent for the month. Sales of trucks and SUVs are also up over 42 percent for the year to date, according to the GCADA.
For the second month in a row, Chevrolet was Northern Ohio’s best-selling brand, with local dealers selling 2,888 new vehicles in February compared to Ford, which sold 2,717 in the month. For the year to date, Chevrolet has a 291 new vehicle lead over Ford. Honda sold 1,260 new vehicles in the month to beat out its offshore rival Toyota, the latter selling 1,143 new vehicles. That figure kept Toyota just 10 vehicles ahead of Jeep for fourth place, which rang up a sales increase of 12.18 percent when comparing February of 2017 with February of 2016.
In addition to Jeep, Audi, BMW, Buick, Fiat, GMC, Infiniti, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo each registered strong double digit growth for the month. Upscale brands Jaguar and Maserati knocked it out of the park with triple digit sales increases for February.
16 Brands Up in February (‘17 v. ‘16)
The following brands posted sales increases in February of 2017 versus February of 2016: Audi, BMW, Buick, Chevrolet, Dodge, Fiat, GMC, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Maserati, Ram, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.
22 Brands Up for the Year (’17 v. ’16)
The following brands posted sales increases for the year to date in 2017: Acura, Audi, BMW, Buick, Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Maserati, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Porsche, Ram, Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.
New-car and truck sales in Northern Ohio
February ’17 / February ’16 & YTD
|
|
February ‘17
|
February ‘16
|
February Chg.
|
YTD
February ‘17
|
YTD
February ‘16
|
YTD
February Chg.
|
|
ACURA
|
88
|
103
|
-14.56%
|
257
|
237
|
8.44%
|
|
AUDI
|
136
|
85
|
60.00%
|
276
|
235
|
17.45%
|
|
BMW
|
180
|
138
|
30.43%
|
492
|
485
|
1.44%
|
|
BUICK
|
536
|
431
|
24.36%
|
1097
|
957
|
14.63%
|
|
CADILLAC
|
155
|
166
|
-6.63%
|
387
|
395
|
-2.03%
|
|
CHEVROLET
|
2888
|
2760
|
4.64%
|
6437
|
6007
|
7.16%
|
|
CHRYSLER
|
162
|
241
|
-32.78%
|
393
|
531
|
-25.99%
|
|
DODGE
|
343
|
325
|
5.54%
|
711
|
756
|
-5.95%
|
|
FIAT
|
24
|
13
|
84.62%
|
40
|
34
|
17.65%
|
|
FORD
|
2717
|
2738
|
-0.77%
|
6146
|
5861
|
4.86%
|
|
FREIGHTLINER
|
26
|
43
|
-39.53%
|
51
|
104
|
-50.96%
|
|
GMC
|
714
|
623
|
14.61%
|
1546
|
1384
|
11.71%
|
|
HINO
|
3
|
7
|
-57.14%
|
15
|
15
|
0.00%
|
|
HONDA
|
1260
|
1327
|
-5.05%
|
3146
|
3034
|
3.69%
|
|
HYUNDAI
|
474
|
509
|
-6.88%
|
1326
|
1179
|
12.47%
|
|
INFINITI
|
116
|
85
|
36.47%
|
291
|
258
|
12.79%
|
|
INTERNATIONAL
|
22
|
103
|
-78.64%
|
74
|
144
|
-48.61%
|
|
ISUZU
|
17
|
11
|
54.55%
|
38
|
26
|
46.15%
|
|
JAGUAR
|
25
|
9
|
177.78%
|
45
|
14
|
221.43%
|
|
JEEP
|
1133
|
1010
|
12.18%
|
2664
|
2229
|
19.52%
|
|
KENWORTH
|
11
|
14
|
-21.43%
|
22
|
40
|
-45.00%
|
|
KIA
|
841
|
813
|
3.44%
|
1863
|
1701
|
9.52%
|
|
LAND ROVER
|
36
|
39
|
-7.69%
|
95
|
95
|
0.00%
|
|
LEXUS
|
69
|
131
|
-47.33%
|
287
|
398
|
-27.89%
|
|
LINCOLN
|
164
|
196
|
-16.33%
|
375
|
415
|
-9.64%
|
|
LOTUS
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
|
MACK
|
5
|
1
|
400.00%
|
19
|
13
|
46.15%
|
|
MASERATI
|
11
|
5
|
120.00%
|
21
|
8
|
162.50%
|
|
MAZDA
|
243
|
279
|
-12.90%
|
661
|
635
|
4.09%
|
|
MERCEDES BENZ
|
178
|
206
|
-13.59%
|
557
|
495
|
12.53%
|
|
MINI
|
7
|
12
|
-41.67%
|
63
|
41
|
53.66%
|
|
MISCELLANEOUS
|
15
|
4
|
275.00%
|
49
|
22
|
122.73%
|
|
MITSUBISHI
|
81
|
106
|
-23.58%
|
179
|
228
|
-21.49%
|
|
NISSAN
|
689
|
843
|
-18.27%
|
1791
|
1843
|
-2.82%
|
|
PETERBILT
|
70
|
69
|
1.45%
|
163
|
121
|
34.71%
|
|
PORSCHE
|
20
|
31
|
-35.48%
|
69
|
66
|
4.55%
|
|
RAM
|
351
|
340
|
3.24%
|
938
|
706
|
32.86%
|
|
SMART
|
3
|
4
|
-25.00%
|
11
|
13
|
-15.38%
|
|
SUBARU
|
822
|
732
|
12.30%
|
1895
|
1469
|
29.00%
|
|
TOYOTA
|
1143
|
1246
|
-8.27%
|
2731
|
2948
|
-7.36%
|
|
UD
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
0
|
0
|
0.00%
|
|
VOLKSWAGEN
|
352
|
285
|
23.51%
|
818
|
630
|
29.84%
|
|
VOLVO
|
78
|
43
|
81.40%
|
155
|
121
|
28.10%
|
|
WESTERN STAR
|
5
|
2
|
150.00%
|
15
|
5
|
200.00%
|
|
Total Cars and Trucks
|
16213
|
16128
|
0.53%
|
38209
|
35898
|
6.44%
|
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.
About the GCADA
The Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers' Association (GCADA) has served the retail-automobile industry and community with integrity and distinction since 1915. Today, located in Brecksville, Ohio, GCADA represents over 250 franchised motor vehicle dealers, which include new-car, truck, motorcycle and RV dealers in a 21-county region of Northern Ohio along the Lake Erie shore and beyond. More information on the GCADA can be found at www.gcada.org. Contact us at 440-746-1500.
About the Cleveland Auto Show
The Cleveland Auto Show marks the start of the spring selling season in Northern Ohio. Featuring concept, pre-production and production vehicles from the world’s auto manufacturers, the show is held annually at the I-X Center with nearly 1.2 million square feet of exhibits. The Show also features an array of entertainment including sports celebrity appearances from the Browns, Cavs, and more. The Cleveland Auto Show is a consumer show and a favorite family tradition since 1903. Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheClevelandAutoShow.
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