Record-Breaking New Vehicle Sales Expected for September: Report

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We’ve got good news for auto manufacturers! A new report from J.D. Power-LMC Automotive says that new vehicle sales are set to rise in September. The report says it’s because American consumers spent more money on new cars than any other September ever (since monthly records started being tracked).

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According to Reuters, high vehicle prices and a lack of any sort of discount haven’t really had any sort of negative impact on the demand for new cars… which is honestly bewildering to me. But hey, you guys do you. Those prices have been driven up, of course, by all that high demand coupled with low inventory.

The study suggests that retail sales of new vehicles should reach an estimated 958,948 units. That’s apparently a 5.4 percent increase over just one year ago.

“Transaction prices still rose and consumers spent more money on new vehicles this month,” Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power, said.

King added that auto sales have not begun to feel the impact of the Fed’s attempts to curb inflation.

September seasonally adjusted annualized rate for total new vehicle sales is expected to be 13.6 million units, up 1.5 million units from 2021, the report showed.

The report, however, said that the per unit pricing and profitability may see deterioration in the coming quarters as broader macro economic conditions affect demand and pressure affordability.

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Reuters reports that new-vehicle sales for the third quarter of this year are supposed to hit about 2,900,300 units. That’s a little more than a four percent increase from the same time last year.

The outlet also says that Cox Automotive has cut its full-year sales outlook from 14.4 million vehicles down to 13.7 million vehicles. It also says Cox gave a warning that, while it hasn’t happened just yet, rising interest rates may begin to chip away at all of that pent-up, angry demand.