“Some consumers who deferred purchases earlier this summer are responding to improving vehicle supply and more competitive prices”
The analysis also shows that Atlanta’s registration figures are consistent with online shopping activity by visitors to Edmunds.com. The number of online users in Atlanta considering a new car on Edmunds.com has climbed 14 percent year-to-date over the same period last year.
Phoenix was next on the list, recording a 23 percent increase in new car registrations year over year. Sacramento, Salt Lake City and Birmingham, each with a 22 percent increase, round out the top five new car hot spots. Nationally, new retail car registrations have climbed 14 percent this year.
In a newly published update of her 2011 automotive sales forecast, Edmunds.com chief economist Lacey Plache says that early-year momentum in new-vehicle sales nationwide was slowed by disruptions triggered by the Japanese earthquake and other economic headwinds that have hurt consumer confidence.
“Some consumers who deferred purchases earlier this summer are responding to improving vehicle supply and more competitive prices,” said Plache. “But declining economic conditions are keeping other consumers away from dealer lots and will continue to do so at least through the end of the year.”
Edmunds.com also analyzed the slowest-growing new car markets, and while none of the top 50 U.S. markets have regressed in 2011, Detroit has shown the least growth compared to 2010, at just two percent. New York (+3%), Boston (+4%), Miami (+5%) and Providence (+7%) rounded out the bottom five.
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