Reports in the Wall Street Journal, and other sources, suggest that both auto dealers and manufacturers are generally optimistic for an end-of year, and 2011 sales boost. This year end optimism was surely tempered on the East Coast, where a monumental blizzard brought business (and travel) to a virtual stop. Hopefully, dealers with an inventory of 4-wheel drive vehicles were able to benefit to some degree.
Increased sales for the closing weeks of 2010 are encouraged by the availability of 0% financing, often coupled with a rebate. This coupled with manufacturer incentives to dealers to move product, should help drive sales upward, but will only cut losses in a year that will be one of the slowest in decades.
The optimism for 2011 is based on more durable premises– new and better products (especially from the U.S. “Big Three”), some increased availability of consumer financing (even for the sub-prime market), and the U.S. consumers “aging fleet”.
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