According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on October 1, high new car prices and borrowing costs have made American consumers wait and see, which may cause U.S. auto sales to be “mediocre” again this year.
Overall U.S. auto sales fell 1.9% in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to estimates by research firm Wards Intelligence.
As the largest automaker in the United States, GM’s sales in the third quarter fell 2% year-on-year, with the decline of GM’s mass-market Chevrolet brand being particularly pronounced.
Toyota ‘s third-quarter U.S. sales fell 5.6% year-on-year, with sales of popular models such as the RAV4 , Camry and Corolla also falling in September.
The Wall Street Journal quoted analysts as saying that Hurricane Helene, which landed in the United States in late September, affected overall sales in the auto market, as September is usually the peak season for car purchases.
At the same time, American automakers have also been affected by the dockworkers’ strike. On October 1, about 45,000 dockworkers at 36 ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico went on strike after negotiations on a new labor contract broke down over issues such as wages.
This is the first strike at ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States in nearly 50 years. Data shows that the 36 ports affected by the strike handle 57% of the United States’ international container traffic and 87% of US trade (in terms of tonnage).
Toyota has increased its vehicle inventory in recent weeks in preparation for the possibility of factory shutdowns, said Jack Hollis, Toyota’s head of North American operations.
The Wall Street Journal said that based on the performance in the third quarter of this year, the US auto sales for the whole year of 2024 are expected to be 15.7 million. Although this figure is slightly higher than that in 2023, it is still far below the historical high.
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