Texas auto dealer Hayden Elder says March was his worst month in 42 years selling cars thanks to the coronavirus, but April brought days that were 'almost normal' and he expects bigger customer discounts to help him sell more Dodge Ram pickup trucks this month.
As states begin to reopen, the next months will be turbulent and the pace of recovery will vary by state, industry officials, analysts and dealers said.
Auto retailer Sonic Automotive Inc’s Chief Executive David Smith said this week that automakers’ current discounts were already unprecedented. They pushed sales higher in late April and will hopefully boost them further in the second and third quarters, he said.Automakers in the United States can look to China for some inspiration. Sales there have rebounded since virus lockdowns lifted.
One wild card for the new vehicle market is the way the coronavirus has disrupted the used U.S. vehicle market, where about 40 million cars and trucks change hands a year. Scott Cooke, chief financial officer of Toyota’s U.S. captive finance arm, said the Japanese automaker does not have excess inventory on dealer lots, but is seeing a build-up of customers in lockdown states unable to return vehicles that have reached the end of their lease.
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