According to the research firm J.D. Power and Associates, which collects data from 8,900 U.S. dealers, the sales of new cars in U.S. has responded positively and indicates improvement in the first half of September. The recuperating inventory of cars is believed to be the prime reason behind the healthy looking sales, as it helped to revive the dwindling sales by bringing back buyers to the market. The sales rate for September, on an annual basis, seems to be in good form and expects to reach a figure of 12.9 million vehicles. J.D. Power claims that the anticipated sales is quite encouraging, as the sales rate of cars was 12.1 million in August. Moreover, the sales rate in September 2010 was 11.7 million vehicles.
J.D. Power also said that excluding fleet sales, the new-vehicle retail sales is projected to reach at 8,42,400 units, which represents a sales rate of 10.3 million units.
The slackness in demand for May and June turned out to be more than expected, however the overall vehicle sales in July and August concluded with better results, each exceeding the 12 million annual sales rate mark.
Japanese auto makers have lately increased their inventory of cars, after getting affected adversely from a shortage of parts caused by catastrophes in the form of the earthquake in March and Tsunami in Japan.
Moreover, analysts and industry observers anticipate a probable double-dip recession and are tensed because auto makers may be forced to ascend retail incentives in order to entice the buyers to come to dealer showrooms.
Jeff Schuster, Executive Director of Global Forecasting at J.D. Power, was quoted as saying; "Coming off a solid Labour Day sale, retail sales exhibited unexpected strength in the second week of September as the recovering inventory levels have helped to bring buyers back into the market. However, incentive levels remain flat compared with August and the economy remains a concern, so the sales pace in the second half of the month is expected to give back some of the gains.”
For the year, J.D. Power believes that the U.S. sales would likely finish at 12.6 million vehicles, which is a 9 per cent increase from 2010. While for 2012, it forecasts a sales rate of 14.1 million vehicles, but added that ambiguity regarding the conclusion of sales in future still prevails.
Thus, the automakers report on U.S. auto sales for September, which is scheduled for announcement on October 3, would present a clear picture regarding the current condition of the U.S. car market.
