USED CAR SALES 2.9 MILLION

Latest News Monthly Used Car Sales Near 3 Million Used-car sales should come in at around 2.9 million this month. TrueCar estimates used-car sales at 2,891,896 for March. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:2. New light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) are expected to be 1,466,956 units, up 23.1 percent from February and up 4.5 percent from March 2012 (on an unadjusted basis). The March forecast translates into a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 15.42 million new car sales, up from 15.4 million in February and up from 14.1 million in March 2012. Retail sales are up 20.2 percent from February and up 4.2 percent compared to March 2012. Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 21 percent of total industry sales in March. The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,523 in March, which represents a decrease of 1.7 percent from March 2012 and is unchanged from February 2013.

USED CAR SALES SLOWING DOWN

Used Car Sales Slow Used car sales are expected to slow this month. Edmunds.com estimates that 3.35 million used cars will be sold in February, for a SAAR of 37.2 million (compared to 3.12 million - or a SAAR of 38.7 million - used car sales in January). Edmunds.com forecasts that 1,198,538 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in February for an estimated SAAR this month of 15.5 million light vehicles. The projected sales will be a 14.9 percent increase from January 2013, and a 4.3 percent increase from February 2012. Retail SAAR will come in at 12.4 million vehicles in February, with fleet transactions accounting for 20.3 percent of total sales. Considering the fact that fuel prices are rising unemployment is staying the same and income tax refund checks are being delayed dealers are feeling the pitch and prices of used vehicles are expected to topple.

#VETERAN CARSALESMEN MAKE MORE

Despite the fact that the new generation carsalesperson has access to social media more computer literate and better educated the old school method of carsales seem to equate to higher commissions. NADA University, the education and training arm of the National Automobile Dealers Association, has unveiled an all-new industry report covering car and truck dealership employee compensation, benefits, retention and turnover, and hours of operation and work schedules. The study included some findings about the used-car department. One is that there is a positive connection between years of tenure and increased new- and used-vehicle sales. Also, increasing dealership used-vehicle sales has a smaller impact on compensation than increasing new-vehicle sales. The new report presents an overall analysis of 2012 Dealership Workforce Study results with data for all regions of the U.S. The study, based on 350,000 payroll records submitted by nearly 2,500 dealerships, vastly improves and expands the former NADA biennial Compensation Study in a variety of ways, including: capturing enhanced and more timely data and trends on an annual basis; compiling data nationally, regionally and statewide; simplifying participation through a web-based portal; and offering separate individualized reports to participating dealerships so they can compare their numbers against data aggregated on a regional and national basis, as well as by state/metro area and franchise. Among other key findings in the Industry Report, based on 2011 data: Most key dealership positions emphasized in the report had higher individual average salaries than the median household income in their regions, and all exceeded the national average individual wage index. Job retention, turnover, and tenure were more favorable than the national norms in most key job categories analyzed. Turnover rates for sales consultants in a number of regions were close to, or exceeded, the average of 39.9 percent for all industries. Tenure for sales consultants is below the national job average of 5.1 years in all regions. Tenure for F&I directors/managers, sales managers, and service advisors is below national levels in some regions. There appears to be a strong correlation between dealership sales hours and new-unit sales. Recent Posts