Mexican Media Brands
Toyota Says U.S. Car Sales Boom May End Next Year
America's car sales surge could fizzle at the end of 2014 unless the economy revives enough to create more jobs, says Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American operations.
#economics
Share
America's car sales surge could fizzle at the end of 2014 unless the economy revives enough to create more jobs, says Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American operations.
Car sales in the U.S. slumped to a 30-year low of 10.4 million units in 2009. Lentz tells the Associated Press that the decline in new-car sales meant fewer trade-ins, thus shrinking the country's supply of used cars to its lowest level since the 1980s.
The shortage of used cars boosted their price and made the relative difference in the price of new cars more attractive. That trend will push new-car sales to an expected 15.6 million units this year, a volume close to pre-recession levels.
It's also replenishing used-car inventories and driving down the price of second-hand cars. As the price gap between new and used cars widens again, new-car sales growth will slow, Lentz predicts. He estimates that the equilibrium point is about 12 months away.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Achieving Efficiency?
A look at on-road fuel economy changes over 92 years.
-
On Global EV Sales, Lean and the Supply Chain & Dealing With Snow
The distribution of EVs and potential implications, why lean still matters even with supply chain issues, where there are the most industrial robots, a potential coming shortage that isn’t a microprocessor, mapping tech and obscured signs, and a look at the future
-
Mazda, CARB and PSA North America: Car Talk
The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Management Briefing Seminars, an annual event, was held last week in Traverse City, Michigan.