NEW YORK–Car sales in the U.S. have picked up again, with Americans back to buying vehicles at their pre-pandemic pace–at least for General Motors’ vehicles.
The nation's largest automaker, GM is reporting overall car sales to U.S. consumers have returned to where they were before they plunged in the Spring of 2020 as the coronavirus-related economic slowdown took hold.
"When you look back to where we were in March and how dismal things looked, it's incredible how strong the year ended," Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at AutoTrader, told CNN Business.
The GM announcement does not mean that auto sales are all the way back: Fleet sales, which typically make up about 20% of overall U.S. sales, are still way off, according to GM. That's especially true for sales to rental car companies, which account for roughly half of fleet sales, CNN Business noted.
‘Not a Fair Comparison’
General Motors said its fourth-quarter sales were up nearly 5% from a year ago, but that comes with a caveat.
“It's not a fair comparison, as GM's fourth quarter 2019 sales were impacted by a prolonged strike at the automaker,” CNN Business reminded. “GM's full-year sales were down about 12% from 2019.”
CNN Business noted Toyota also reported U.S. quarterly sales rose 9% compared to a year ago. Toyota traditionally has not depended as much on fleet sales as some of its rivals. For the full year its sales were down 11%.
GM said its average transaction price in the fourth-quarter was a record $41,886. The full-year average of $39,229 also set a record.
As CUToday.info reported here, vehicle prices across the board hit new highs during 2020.
GM further reported car buyers are spending more on the vehicles they are buying, choosing more expensive models such as larger SUVs and upgrading to more expensive option packages -- all good news for automakers.
The strong retail numbers also mean the automakers didn't need to offer as much in terms of incentives to attract buyers, the CNN Business report added.
‘More Out of Reach Than Ever’
But the report also noted that for the millions who have lost jobs, or had their incomes cut by the recession, a new car is more out of reach than ever due to rising prices. Automakers are now offering fewer models that cost less than $30,000, AutoTrader’s Krebs told CNN Business. That will continue to be a headwind for car sales going forward, and will likely prevent the industry from reaching the 17 million U.S. car sales mark it hit in 2019 any time soon, the news outlet reported.
"The auto industry is a perfect illustration of the K-shaped recovery," Krebs told CNN Business, referring to the gap between gains in the upper end of the market and continued tough times for those with fewer resources.