The California new vehicle market is assumed to end 2018 at elevated sales levels. Despite the little drop from previous years, new vehicle sales will be at the fourth-highest total over the past 11 years and 2018 sales will presumably outrun 2009 levels by over 900,000 units.
“While California new vehicle sales are expected to be slightly below 2 million units this year, we continue to be encouraged that California sales are steady and remain at elevated levels," Taz Harvey of Dublin Mazda and California New Car Dealers Association chairperson, said. "Even if the market is slightly declining, we need to keep perspective that this is a natural trend for a market that has seen significant, consistent growth over the course of several years."
The California Auto Outlook Third Quarter 2018 reported that passenger car registrations have decreased by 10.6 percent below this time last year, while California light truck sales continue to grow, up by 5.2 percent from 2017.
Apart from these numbers, 13 of the top 20 brands in California noticed light truck sales increases, paced by Volkswagen with a growth of more than 100 percent compared to this time last year.
The sales trend is also noticeable nationwide with light truck sales increasing by 7.6 percent and passenger car sales dropping by 13.2 percent.
A comprehensive report of the California Auto Outlook covering 3rd Quarter 2018 (Data Source: IHS Markit) released last November can be viewed through the California New Car Dealers Association website.
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