“We feel like there’s light at the end of the
tunnel,” said Randy Parker, vice president of sales
for Hyundai Motor America. “I think it’s going to
be a solid year.”
But Parker said he’s still cautious, with hospitals
overflowing in California and cases rising in
other states. “It’s far from over,” he said. “We can’t
afford to let our guard down at this point.”
Last spring, unemployment skyrocketed as
states imposed lockdowns and other measures
to limit the virus’ spread. Auto sales tumbled
34% in the first half of the year as factories
closed for about two months, cutting off the
supply of new vehicles.
But as the summer came, people with jobs
started splurging on loaded-out cars, trucks
and SUVs late in the year. That and low interest
rates drove sales up and pushed the average
auto sales price to a record of just over $38,000
in December, according to J.D. Power. Also in
December, sales rose 5% from the same month
in 2019, and GM said its sales improved every
month since May.
“Those that haven’t been financially impacted
by the pandemic are redistributing funds from
travel to home improvement, house purchasing
and vehicles,” said Jeff Schuster, president
of global vehicle forecasting for the LMC
Automotive consulting firm.
Automakers still haven’t been able to make up
for production lost during their factory closures,
and that has kept inventory tight and limited
buyers’ choices to more expensive vehicles,
Schuster said.
Retail sales to individual buyers are close to
normal levels, but sales to fleet buyers such as