A new report is saying that new car sales took a nosedive in September, signaling economic distress could be just around the corner. The downward trend in the United States is being blamed on two hurricanes, while the slump in sales in the United Kingdom is being blamed on carmakers’ difficulty meeting emissions regulations.
Major automakers on Tuesday posted a hefty drop in U.S. new vehicle sales for September, caused in part by a decline in sales in areas hit by Hurricane Florence and a tough comparison to the previous September when consumers rushed to replace vehicles damaged by Hurricane Harvey, reported Reuters.
Ford Motor Company on Tuesday reported an 11.2 percent drop in sales, with declines in every major category. Sales of sedans were down nearly 26 percent. However, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles bucked the trend for the month, reporting a 15 percent jump in U.S. sales. This was due to increases in sales of its infamous Jeeps, notably the Cherokee and Compass models, and Ram pickup trucks.
“September was a bloodbath for cars,” Cox Automotive analyst Michelle Krebs told reporters on a conference call. “They dropped like a rock,” Krebs said of Americans and the long-standing trend of abandoning smaller cars for larger and more comfortable SUVs and pickups.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the number of total vehicles registered was down 20.5% on the same period in 2017 at 338,834, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said according to the BBC. Carmakers had struggled with “a raft of upheavals” including adjusting to stricter emissions standards, the society added. It also said that the impact of the sales plunge was felt across the board, with registrations by private consumers, fleets, and businesses all sharply declining. Sales of petrol and diesel cars fell, but those of hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles actually rose by a meager 3.9%.
According to Reuters, the slump in new car sales is expected to continue too. After a strong first half of the year while in an economic bubble of epic proportions, U.S. new auto sales are expected to dip in the second half of 2018. Rising interest rates, in particular, translate into higher monthly car payments and push more Americans toward buying used vehicles.
“It was a tough comparison for sales year-over-year, but otherwise the month was very solid for us with some bright spots,” said Billy Hayes, Nissan’s vice president for regional operations in North America. “We’re still extremely bullish and we’re feeling very good about the rest of the year.”
No ones buying cars o what are we to do
Better buy salvos survival guide blah blah more fear porn and nonsense
This is a bad sign. I have also read that home sales and prices are dropping. The main economic indicator is INTEREST RATES and they’re going UP.
Friends, once this economic house of cards starts to collapse the fall will be hard and fast. Everything is so interconnected that once ONE thing falls it will cause a chain reaction of events (like dominoes).
My next 2 months of preps will be pure Maple Syrup. I have enough bulk food now it’s about quality of life. I guess you can say, I’ll be living high on the tree!
You’re worried about sales and boycotts, but the market is not driven by profit.
The business model is to launder subsidies.
Hey Beaumont,
That’s the kind of comment people make on the economy when they have no idea what they’re talking about. Which “market” are you even referring to? There is more than one, you know…
As shown in this article, there is one main reason why the next global slowdown will be far worse than the Great Recession:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2018/07/corporate-americas-debt-problem.html
This problem has been created by a decade of the Federal Reserve’s imaginative policies.
I almost have enough money saved up to buy an old truck for cash. Buy from a private owner, pay the entire cash price right there on the spot, and you won’t have a note to worry about. You always get a better deal from an individual than from a dealer. It’s just not worth the effort you have to go through for financing. Cash still talks.
The Deplorable Renegade, I would trade my little red sports car for a truck any day. A Truck is an important prepping item.
I remember reading that in an economic collapse the roads don’t get repaired and potholes eat cars for lunch!
There may not be gas to put in those trucks, buddy.
By a good pair of Leather Personnel Carriers, aka boots. Multiple pairs.
def con 1, I hear you. That’s why I moved to a small town where I can easily walk to everything I need, including a grocery store, a Wollyworld and a Southern States.
Plus, I have over 20 pairs of Costco Tennis Shoes in a bin. They are quality shoes at a great price.
I few month ago I finally got a bike. But I think if I could have one transportation prep that I could afford it would be a good scooter.
Def Con 1, I already keep extra pairs of boots in my preps, especially insulated boots for winter. Leather Personnel Carriers, good one!
Justice, agreed. I’ve owned one truck in my life and it was great until a U-Haul hit me one day and totaled it. A truck is much more useful and sensible than any car out there. I HATE cars. Give me a good full-size truck any day.
Deplorable ReneTard – you need an old Sanford and Son type truck to go along with your sister’s trailer.
Oh look it’s a democrat! Just throws insults adds nothing of meaning.
Oh look, it’s Dan, BraveTard’s butt-boy.
D.O.M., what does your moniker stand for? Dickhead On Medicine? Let’s see you go out trying to buy a vehicle from a dealer and see how many credit applications YOU get rejected. I’m NOT in love with the idea of going to Craigslist for a truck but that’s the only kind of people who will do business with me. I can only do what my circumstances allow me to do. You sound like some of the middle-class snobs where I work.
I have a trailer that can connect to any number of vehicles, my personal preference being a SUV on a truck body.
DR,
I can’t imagine going through life without a 4WD truck. I have two, one for the road and one for the property. I have a diesel car for commuting(50 mpg). All were used, paid for with cash.
They are old and a pain to repair sometimes(Except for body work, I do all my own repairs), but my costs per mile are well below the average. Cash is king!
Rellik, within a month I should have some kind of old truck that I can make last for awhile. Trucks are always a lot more useful and hold up better. Cars suck big time. The older trucks don’t have half the electronics the new ones have so they cost less to keep running. Fewer things to go wrong. The company’s 2014 F-150 I’m in has that damn ELECTRIC steering. Everything’s got ELECTRIC steering now. If that goes out, the driver is screwed. Give me the old hydraulic power steering any day. The biggest problem that can happen with that is replacing the rack-and-pinion system but still beats the hell out of an electric setup.
DR,
Interesting that you should say that.
I have my 2004 Mazda B4000(AKA Ford Ranger)torn apart
trying to replace the short and long rack and pinion
hydraulic tubes. I’m trying to do it in the vehicle
to avoid removing the rack and pinion.
The steel lines had rusted through and started to leak.
Everything rusts here.
I’d really prefer electrics.
I designed, built, and tuned servo systems.
Many cars cost more than houses did 30 years ago, and pickup trucks for 40-60 thousand. Gas price pushing $3 a gallon here expected to go up. Business should react to the reality that people have less money to spend and lower prices accordingly. But that’s not capitalism which requires continually higher prices. No wonder mass transit is frowned upon, the bankers own the oil companies and the politicians who in turn wage war to keep their pot of gold growing as the swindle kicks into higher gear.
aljamo
You must not have been watching things too closely. I bought 2 homes in 2011 and 2012 for 39,000 and 50,000 respectively. They were both 1850 spuare feet with full basements on large corner lots in the Northwest. I just happened to have cash at the time. When it dumps again all of the same bargains will be back out there. Remember, when the banks will loan you money there is no money to be made. When the banks won’t talk to you you need to have cash to buy the bargains.
Ive got a new truck. its a 46 cab on a 84 4 wheel drive frame. has a souped up 66 engine and transmission. I built it out of part myself. Some call it a Jalopy. Some call it a rat rod. The state when they issued me a builders title call it a street rod. its titled as a 2018 model.
Aljamo, good points. I don’t have the right kind of income for those newer overpriced trucks with all the bells and whistles. I had a 1990 F-150 I bought in 1998 for $4000 cash from a private owner. It only had 70000 miles on it at the time. It was just a base model, crank windows and manual door locks, 5.0 inline 6 engine and automatic, regular cab short bed. No frills or anything. Just good basic reliable transportation that was better than any CAR I ever had. I drove that old truck everywhere. Never had a lot of trouble with it. When I got hit by that idiot in a U-Haul in 2004 it was still running good at 190000 miles. I felt like I lost a relative when I lost that truck. Hopefully I’ll have another old truck soon and that one will be similar for me.
The new plastic-mobiles are junk, when all of the electronics die and you can’t even shift it into gear, you’ll need your leather personnel carriers!
I considered buying a new one to be trouble free for a few years, but after the warrenty’s over you will be at the mercy of a dealer, joe’s garage won’t be able to fix the electronics in the new ones.
my next truck will be older than the one i’m driving now.
Chett, agreed. As I said earlier, give me an old truck and I’m 100% good to go.