Tag Archives: Sales

Used Car Prices Fall In August But Are Still Up 32% From A Year Ago

Used cars prices dropped in August for the first time in seven months after seven months in which they skyrocketed compared to 2020.

Figures from the Labor Department reveal that prices slipped by 1.4 per cent last month, posting the first decline since January. However, used car prices are still up 31.9 per cent from 12 months ago and as the global chip shortage continues to wreak havoc on the production of new vehicles resulting in supply not keeping up with demand in many cases, may remain high for quite some time.

Fox Business notes that used car prices were also supported by the flight from city centers to the suburbs and multiple rounds of stimulus checks. In addition, rental car companies have begun to restock their fleets after selling them off during the early stages of the pandemic.

Read Also: Prices For Some Used Cars Are Now Higher Than When They Were New

“Used car prices started to see a negative payback after the record-smashing rally over the past year,” noted Bank of America economist Alexander Lin.

The Federal Reserve added that the surge in used car prices serves as evidence that inflation is transitory and that prices will recede once supply chain disruptions are resolved.

3M chief financial officer Monish Patolawala says new vehicle production will decline 6 per cent year-over-year in the second half of this year due to the chip shortage. However, some analysts expect used car prices to remain relatively stable in the coming months.

If you happen to have a vehicle sitting around that you could do without, now could be the time to sell it. However, if you’re in the market for a used car, waiting for the chip shortage to end could be a wise move.

BMW Wins U.S. Luxury Sales Crown By Less Than 4,000 Units

2020 was a year most automakers would like to forget and that’s especially true in the luxury segment as every single brand posted a decline in U.S. sales.

However, the luxury sales crown is a closely watched contest and only a few thousand units separated BMW, Mercedes and Lexus last year.

BMW took top honors as they sold 278,732 vehicles in the United States. That’s a drop of 17.5%, but it’s worth noting the automaker was fined $18 (£13.3 / €14.7) million by the Securities and Exchange Commission for inflating their sales between 2015 and 2019.

Also Read: 2020 Was Brutal For Automakers As Many Post Decline In Sales

Second place went to Lexus which sold 275,041 vehicles last year. That’s a decline of 7.7% and the drop can be partly attributed to weak sales of the ES and RX.

Rounding out the podium is Mercedes. They sold 274,916 passengers vehicles – excluding vans – for a drop of 13.0%. C-Class sales plummeted 46.5% for the year, while sales of the E-Class / CLS and S-Class were both off by more than 30%.

Over at Audi, sales dropped 17% to 186,620 units. Their big losers were the A4, A6 and A7 which all saw declines of between 31-42%. On the bright side, Q3 sales skyrocketed 84% for the year.

Acura came in fifth place with sales of 136,983 units. That’s a decline of 13.5% and that can be chalked up to weaker demand for the outgoing TLX and MDX.  However, both models are new for 2021.

The final two spots go to Cadillac and Lincoln. Cadillac sales were down 17.1% to 129,495 units, while Lincoln sales were off 6.1% at 105,410 units.

Lincoln sales will likely drop again this year as the brand has axed the MKZ and Continental. While they were Lincoln’s slowest selling vehicles, aside from the MKT, they still contributed 17,780 units to the bottom line last year.

Lastly, Infiniti sales were down 32.5% to 79,502 units. The drop was largely due to a decline in Q50 and QX60 sales which were off 36.4% and 47.0%, respectively.