US: New vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2020: 12.4% decrease from the same period

US: New vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2020: 12.4% decrease from the same period

United States: New York

April 09, 2020

Motor Intelligence: Announcement (April 1st)

New vehicle sales in the US in the first quarter of 2020 (January-March) decreased by 12.4% year-on-year to 3,507,920 units.

In the first quarter, it was the largest decline rate since 2009 (38.4% decrease), which dropped significantly due to the Lehman shock.

The store is closed due to the coronavirus.

The drop in new car sales was greatly affected by the new coronavirus infection, which has been expanding in the United States since the end of January 2020.

Research company: IHS Markit

In New York, on March 20, the Governor announced a suspension of operations at stores, including car dealerships.

4th week of March / Vehicle registrations decreased by 85% compared to the previous week.

Decrease in number of registered vehicles by state

California: 78% decrease,
Texas: 43% down,
Florida: down 16%,
Both decreased significantly.

Sales volume: by category (see Table 1)

Passenger cars: 933,413 units, down 23.7% year-on-year,

Light-duty trucks: 2,574,507 units, down 7.5% year-on-year

Passenger cars: Sales volume

Since 1980, it has become the lowest quarterly value, falling below 1 million units for the first time.

Light trucks: Unit sales

Popular SUVs have declined year-on-year for the first time since the third quarter of 2009.

By Maker: Sales Volume (See Table 2)

All were negative except Kia.
Nissan decreased significantly by 29.6% year-on-year,
Honda and Subaru decreased by 19.2% and 16.7%, respectively.

On the other hand, Kia’s medium-sized SUV “Telluride” increased 3.1 times compared to the same period of the previous year, boosting the overall sales.

-JETRO

https://www.jetro.go.jp/biznews/2020/04/e830a555f2dc8b48.html