Cox Automotive Forecast Shows Sedan Sales Losing Even More Ground in January
Cox Automotive predicts compact car sales will decline 1.7 percent in January, while mid-size car sales are set to fall 4.2 percent
Don’t expect 2019 to be a comeback for the passenger car
2018 was undeniably a rough year for passenger sedans. In fact, passenger cars experienced their lowest market share in recorded history last year.
If fans of this faltering segment were hoping for a more optimistic year for passenger cars, they may be in for some disappointment. Indeed, Cox Automotive predicts that sales for passenger cars will fall once again in January.
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In January of 2018, automakers sold a total of 127,124 compact cars in the U.S. Cox predicts that automakers will only sell 125,000 of these vehicles by the end of this month, representing a 1.7 percent sales decline.
Mid-size car sales will likely decrease even more. Cox suspects sales for this segment will fall from 99,205 units to 95,000 units, representing a sales decline of 4.2 percent.
Compact crossover sales continue to rise
Instead, Cox predicts drivers will turn to compact crossovers and SUVs. Sales for this segment are expected to grow 2.2 percent.
Sales for mid-size crossovers and SUVs are likely to stay stagnant. Finally, Cox predicts truck sales will increase by 2 percent.
Trucks remain a popular segement
As for automotive sales as a whole in January, Cox predicts that retail sales will land somewhere around 1.155 million units by the end of the month. That’s an increase of 2,000 sales, or 0.2 percent, compared to January of 2018.
Yet, any number of factors may have had a greater effect on sales than expected. After all, many consumers were negatively impacted by the partial government shutdown that lasted throughout most of January.
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The seasonally adjusted annual rate for January will also be down from where it was at in December of 2018. During that month, the projected rate was right around 17.7 million vehicles; in January, Cox expects the rate to fall to 17.0 million vehicles.
If these estimates end up being accurate, passenger cars will lose even more of their market share heading into the 2019 sales year. That doesn’t bode well for the future of the segment.
Source: PR Newswire
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