Slow Start for Valley Auto Sales in January
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Mahoning Valley residents bought 3,966 new and used vehicles in January, which is 512 fewer than were purchased in January 2021.
New vehicle sales for the month were down by nearly 700 year over year, with 1,970 vehicles sold compared to 2,669 sold in January 2021, according to the latest data from the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association.
The dip in sales is due to reduced manufacturing because of the omicron variant, supply chain constraints and global inflation driving prices higher, Reuters reported in January. Retail sales of new vehicles were expected to drop 8.3% from the same time last year, it reported.
“The volume of new vehicles being delivered to dealerships in January has been insufficient to meet strong consumer demand, resulting in a significantly diminished sales pace,” Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Powers, said in the report.
The average new car price nationally topped $47,000 in December 2021, reports Kelley Blue Book, which is up from just over $46,300 in November. That average has increased steadily over the last three years, with an increased average price of $1,799 in 2019, followed by increases of $3,301 in 2020 and $6,220 in 2021. KBB cites reduced supply and increased demand for the increased average prices.
Taylor Kia of Boardman sold the most new vehicles in January among Mahoning Valley dealers with 113 sold, which is one more than the dealership sold in January 2021. The other top five dealerships in the Valley saw dips in new vehicle sales, including Greenwood Chevrolet with 105 sold (-48), Boardman Subaru with 97 sold (-19), Kufleitner Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Trucks of Boardman with 91 sold (-26) and Sweeney Chevrolet with 90 sold (-75)
Use vehicle sales were up year over year, with dealerships reporting 1,943 used autos sold, up more than 200 from 1,734 sold in January 2021.
Locally, Fred Martin Ford led used auto sales with 99, which is 27 more than the dealership sold in January 2021. Rounding out the top five were Taylor Kia with 93 used vehicles sold (+39), Greenwood Chevrolet with 92 (+6), Stadium Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac with 82 (+45) and Boardman Subaru with 79 (+16)
Between its Chevrolet, and Buick and GMC dealerships, Sweeney sold 146 used vehicles in January, with is 11 more than the company sold in January 2021.
Taylor Kia led overall sales in the Mahoning Valley with 206 total new and used vehicles sold, up 40 from January 2021. Rounding out the top five were Greenwood Chevrolet with 197 total autos sold (-42), Boardman Subaru with 176 sold (-3), Fred Martin Ford with 173 sold (+13) and Sweeney Chevrolet with 162 sold (-66).
Across the auto dealer association’s 22-county footprint, combined new- and used-car sales in January were down more than 800 units to 5,603, compared to 6,432 in January 2021.
Taylor Kia ranked fourth in the region with 218 vehicles sold last month. Rounding out the Mahoning Valley dealerships who ranking in the Top 10 were Greenwood Chevrolet (206), Boardman Subaru (195), Fred Martin Ford (191), and Fairway Ford (176).
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
