June 25, 2020—While U.S. new-vehicle sales in June are believed to have decreased by nearly 30 percent, research firms recently indicated that retail demand has held up relatively well during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The question now, according to a Reuters news article, is whether the industry can rebuild inventories fast enough as demand recovers.
The shutdown of plants and auto dealers hit the country hard in April and May, but assembly plants reopened starting May 18 and have since boosted production. TrueCar subsidiary ALG expects sales of new cars and trucks to drop 24 percent, with the month finishing with an annual sales rate of 13 million units, down from 17.2 last year.
Excluding fleet sales, retail deliveries will decrease 15 percent, yet rise 1.5 percent from May, the report noted. Cox Automotive envisions June sales dropping 30% with an annual sales rate of 12.6 million units as supply constraints may limit market gains, especially among pickups.
"The worst of the crisis is probably behind us," Cox senior economist Charlie Chesbrough said on a conference call.
