Diving Deep Into Trends

🖼️ Economic Landscape —

• September witnessed impressive job growth, with 336K jobs created, surpassing the expected 170K.
• The unemployment rate held steady at 3.8%.
• Consumer spending spiked in September, up 17% YOY. Buyers are still keeping their sights set on lower-priced vehicles, with a significant 18.5% surge in new-light-vehicle sales compared to last year.

👎 Consumer Confidence Dips —

• Despite the increase in spending, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell by 5.2% in September. Consumer confidence was down 4.5% YOY following two back-to-back months of decline.
• Consumer plans to purchase a vehicle in the next six months also declined (but still remains up from 2022).

📈 New: Sale & Supply —

• New vehicle sales in the third quarter are projected to reach 3.9M units, an increase of 15.5% YOY.
• Final September sales numbers are expected to be up 13.9% YOY.
• Supply is healthy overall but that is not the case for every OEM. Stay on top of your specific day supply to future-proof your retail strategy in Q4 and Q1 of 2024.

📉 Used: Sales & Supply —

• Certified Pre-owned sales stood out, marking a 14% increase compared to 2022.
• The sales rate is expected to stay strong for used cars in the remainder of 2023.
• The used day supply, however, is down 10% YOY with supply levels trending below the last four years.

🪧 Strike Impacts —

• The ongoing UAW strike is still causing ripples in the economy (more on that below👇).
• GM’s strategic move to extend a $6B line of credit indicates a prolonged strike.
• If it continues, dealerships must brace for potential price hikes — new vehicle prices may see a rise of nearly 2%.