Despite weather-related slow-down of automotive sales in February and due to decreasing average on-the-road age of cars, sales of new cars and trucks are going to hit the highest level in a decade in the United States.
Extreme weather conditions have already marked its presence on February car sales, and according to Experian Automotive, the average on-the -road age of cars has also come down. Both of these factors affected the sales figures of the U.S. automobile industry.
The overall result: The industry experienced a 5.3 percent increase in sales against the expected eight to nine percent.
Experian Automotive has revealed that the average age of cars on the road saw a small increase over the last couple of years in the third quarter of 2014. However, for the last 15 model years, the average age of cars was 7.4 years in the third quarter of 2014, down from 7.5 years in 2013, and down from 7.6 years in 2012.
The average age trend may have been continuing through February and into March of 2015. That means, Americans are buying new cars more rapidly than before. According to Reuters, the consumer spending is also up, affecting the increase of auto sales. It is a good auto news for all car makers.
Importantly, past February, the automotive industry is optimistic about the sales growth reaching the expected figures in coming months. The most appreciable reasons are substitution of the old cars with news ones and the warmer weather conditions in the U.S.
"We've already put February in the rear-view mirror," said Ken Cataldo, the general manager of Colonial Volkswagen of Medford, Massachusetts.
Talking about the first two weeks of February, Cataldo added, "It was the worst two weeks of my life in the car business."
Talking about the weather conditions affecting February sales, TrueCar Vice President of Industry Insights Eric Lyman said, "Consumers don't view going to [a] dealership as a positive experience. Anything that creates an obstacle...can be a drag on sales."
The overall story was not very bad for some automakers. Toyota and Subaru gained a double-digit sales growth over last February, and Hyundai surprised the analysts with sales up by seven percent.
However, Chrysler, Honda, General Motors, and Nissan reported sales growth of six percent or less. Meanwhile, Ford U.S. and Volkswagen saw sales dropping by 1.9 percent and 5.2 percent respectively.
Still, the overall conditions of the U.S. automobile industry can really be termed to be healthy. Lyman concluded with a positive note about the auto industry, saying, "Auto makers, sellers and finance companies are "all having a great time right now."