New Car Sales Up 9%; Used Vehicles Sales Drop 17% YoY for August

Car shoppers have been opting for new vehicles over used ones, according to recent studies, with August sales for pre-owned cars estimated to reach 1.2 million units, a 9% increase year over year.

U.S. retail deliveries of new cars and light trucks, excluding fleet sales, are estimated by TrueCar to be about 1.01 million units, up 6% from a year ago and an increase of about 3% from July 2022, SeekingAlpha reported on Tuesday (Sept. 6).

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The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total light vehicle industry sales is an estimated 13 million, down 14% from August 2021, according to TrueCar total new vehicle industry sales. Total new vehicle industry sales are expected to reach 1.2 million units in August 2022, up 9% year over year, slightly up from July.

“August is shaping up to confirm our early predictions that the industry may be turning the corner,” said Zack Krelle, industry analyst at TrueCar.

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“We’re seeing consecutive month-over-month increases for incentives, while average transaction prices are softening. Inventory is also slowly growing, and sales are improving slightly,” Krelle added.

While digital sales for motor vehicles are on an upward trajectory, only 2% of car shoppers finalized their purchase online, making it one of the last multitrillion-dollar industries that have yet to be fully digitized, Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and CEO of Dubai-based online auto marketplace Seez told PYMNTS in July.

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The incentive to buy a new car is down 52% year over year but is up 9% in August over July. Used vehicle sales for August 2022 are expected to reach 3 million, down 17% year over year and up 4% from July 2022.

The average interest rate on new vehicles is 5.7% compared to July 2022 at 5.6% and the average interest rate on used vehicles is 8.7%, according to the press release.