Car buyers hold out for big bargains
Car shoppers took a wait-and-see approach in April, easing up on purchases as the lure of big incentives faded, with the hope that summer will bring a new flurry of deals.
The industry stayed on the road to recovery in April after last year’s dismal numbers, with most major automakers seeing double-digit sales gains. But sales were down from March, when Toyota launched record-high incentives.
Incentives continued in April but were 5 percent lower as automakers tried to pull back on spending. Ford saw last month’s sales rise 25 percent from a year earlier, while General Motors climbed 6.4 percent. Sales for Toyota rose 24 percent, far slower than the year-over-year jump of 41 percent in March.
Even Chrysler, which has struggled much of the year, reported a 25 percent sales increase, while Honda, Hyundai, Subaru and others also continued to see gains.
Filed under: economics by Forest