ARLINGTON, Va.—May vehicle sales – which dropped to 16.66 million seasonally adjusted, annualized units from April's 16.88 million – marks the fifth straight month of year-over-year sales declines, said NAFCU Research Assistant Yun Cohen.
She said higher interest rates and lower trade-in values contributed.
"Used-car prices decreased for the tenth straight month in April according to the National Automobile Dealers Association," Cohen said in a new NAFCU Macro Data Flash report on the Autodata Corp report. "As the selling pace slows, inventory levels are swelling. According to J.D. Power, the average days to turn for the industry exceeded 70 days for the first time since 2009."
According to Autodata Corp., car sales decreased from April's 6.4 million annualized units to 6.2 million annualized units in May. Sales of light trucks were unchanged from April at a pace of 10.5 million annualized units.
Three of the six largest automakers reported increases in their year-over-year sales numbers. Nissan reported the strongest gain in sales at 3.0%, followed by Ford (2.3%) and Honda (0.9%). General Motors' sales were down 1.4% versus last year, followed by FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) (-0.9%) and Toyota (-0.5%).
"On the positive side, demand and consumer confidence remain strong," Cohen added. "A solid labor market means that vehicle sales are expected to remain stable through the rest of the year, but robust sales growth is unlikely."