|
Though far sharper than your local weather guy, automotive sales forecasters still are aiming for precision in an impossibly imprecise task. Resulting expectations for 2013 vary from analyst to analyst, but all are pointing in the same direction: continued growth of the U.S. new car market from 2012's sales of 14.5 million units. Most agree that next year won't grow at the same rate we did from 2011 to 2012, because we're moving out of economic-recovery mode. Those people who couldn't—or wouldn't—buy a new car in 2008 and 2009 now have, for the most part, bought those new cars.
Polk, a market research and analysis company—with which we've worked in gathering data for some very cool articles—pegs the 2013 market in the U.S. at 15.3 million units. Jesse Toprak, of TrueCar.com tweeted his projection of 15.5 million. Organizations with a broader focus vary a bit more; GE Capital says its projection of 15.2 million is looking "increasingly conservative."
These projections have the volatility of oxygen-argon plasma. If the economy slips back into recession, 2013 will drop at least a million sales from 2012's number. Alternatively, if we continue a recovery mostly free from job growth, sales could linger without expanding. More major meteorological events, like Hurricane Sandy, briefly will kill sales, then crank them up as people replace wrecked rides. Several major models either are just hitting the market or will be introduced in 2013, too—the new GM pickups, the Honda Accord, and the Ford Fusion chief among them—and that could give a little boost as well. Maybe the weatherman does have it easier. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|
Friday, January 4, 2013
Analysts: U.S. Car Market Will Continue to Grow Toward Pre-Recession Levels in 2013
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment