-August 15,2019-
The California New Car Dealers Association reports that new vehicle registrations in California are expected to slip below 2 million units in 2019. The state’s new vehicle market is predicted to decline 4.6 percent from 2018 to 2019, which would be the third consecutive annual decline.
Meanwhile,California’s new light vehicle market declined 5.6 percent during the first six months of this year, while the U.S. market fell 2.3 percent. Light truck registrations in the state slipped 1.1 percent, while passenger cars fell 10.8 percent. The passenger car market share in California was 43.4 percent vs. 29.7 percent in the nation.
Hard hit was the small car market share in California that declined to 19% during the first half of 2019.
Hybrid and electric are sales continue to climb in the Golden State withe category Hybrid/electric vehicle market share, YTD through June standing at 13.0 percent.
The Ford F full-size pickup remains the top in its category while the Honda Civic continues to be the top selling car in the state during the second quarter.
Reports say the price tag on new car purchases may be impacting sales this year. Edmunds reported that “Rising prices and tightened credit conditions continued to place pressure on the new vehicle market in April, according to the car shopping experts at Edmunds. The average price of a new car is expected to climb to $36,718 in April, the highest level seen so far in 2019.”
Indeed used light vehicle registrations in the California were up 5.2 percent thru June of 2019