Auto sales at robust levels as consumer confidence booms
Jul 16, 2013 Philip Burgess
Short term lenders and other auto financiers will welcome the news that small vehicle sales have been increasing steadily this year.
Information recently published by Autodata Corp. indicated that compared to June 2012, car sales last month grew 9.2 percent. Additionally, year-to-date numbers were strong, marking a 7.7 percent increase from vehicle transactions from January to June last year.
The sales boom has been driven by light truck purchases. While car sales increased by a reasonable 4.5 percent in the year-to-date readings, truck transactions improved by a significant 11.2 percent.
All of America's big three automakers have seen 2013 sales top those of last year. In the first six months of this year, General Motors sales have spiked by 8 percent compared to the same period in 2012. Chrysler saw a slightly better increase of 8.9 percent, while Ford led the way with sales growth of 13.1 percent.
The Associated Press reported that car sales are expected to be robust for the remainder of 2013. Overall, the source noted that industry experts are predicting that 15.5 million light vehicles will be bought by American consumers this year. That would top the 2012 sales mark by 1 million.