Zooming Gas Prices Help Compact Car Sales
We all know that the sales of hybrid vehicles have been increasing in the last few years. And when I was reading the article below, it’s nice to see how much percentage wise the sales are going up. With the economy the way it is these day’s, it’s nice to know that we can go out and get a fairly reasonably priced hybrid. Even though availability is still some what limited, if you do your research, you can find them.
WATERLOO, Iowa — The current gas-price spike appears to be driving sales of hybrid and other fuel-sipping vehicles at Cedar Valley car dealers.
“We are seeing an uptick in demand on cars that get good gas mileage,” said Bill Colwell, president of Bill Colwell Ford Inc. in Hudson. “We’re really fortunate. We have several models, and we’re seeing a lot of inquiries on those. We pretty much sell what we have.”
That’s a statewide trend, said Bruce Anderson, president of the West Des Moines-based Iowa Automobile Dealers Association.
“I guess almost every manufacturer seems to have focused on that smaller model and everybody has that option of something in the 30 to 40 (miles per gallon) range,” Anderson said.
Dealers are better-prepared for the fuel-price surge now than they were in 2008, Anderson said.
“There’s a couple of reasons,” he said. “One is they learned a lesson in ’08 and have enhanced those lines (of fuel-efficient vehicles). Ford Fusion now has a hybrid version. The Fiesta has been retooled. The GM Volt and Nissan Leaf are just coming out. Every line make has learned that lesson.”
He pointed out that federally mandated Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards are higher now than in 2008.
“They’re rising, and we’re going to have a wider range of options,” Anderson said. “I don’t think the workhorse vehicles, the pickups and vans, are ever going to go away, but there are more options and availability than three years ago.”
Colwell said his dealership carries three vehicles that carry mileage estimates of 40 mpg, and it is aggressively advertising them.
“The company wants to make that common knowledge,” he said.
Indeed, sales of fuel-stingy vehicles were leading the way, as new vehicles were selling at an annualized pace of 13 million, compared to 11 million two years ago.
South Korea-based Kia Motors’ sales surged 57 percent over April 2010, led by a 41 percent increase in its Sorento crossover.
Nissan Motor Co. said sales increased 12 percent year-over-year. Its Sentra compact rose 42 percent and Rogue small crossover, 28 percent. The company’s all-electric Leaf, introduced in December, posted sales of 573 units in April, for a total of 1,044 since its launch. About 8,000 Leafs have rolled off the assembly line so far, the company said.
A record-breaking April for the CR-V, Fit and Insight hybrid pushed April sales of the Honda Division to 113,195, up 5.9 percent over April 2010. The CR-V crossover utility vehicle was up 25.3 percent for the month to an April record of 21,683. Sales of the subcompact Fit increased by 66.3 percent to an April record of 8,116 and the Insight increased by 35.4 percent to an April record of 2,644 units. Honda’s Accord and Civic sold 30,310 and 26,777, respectively, for April.
Toyota, which was hit hard by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, reported car sales of 77,512 units in April, down 5.1 percent from a year earlier. Top sellers were the Camry and Camry Hybrid, with combined sales of 30,443 units for the month, an increase of 5 percent year-over-year. Corolla reported combined April sales of 24,215 units, and the Prius mid-size gas-electric hybrid posted April sales of 12,477 units.
Toyota’s Lexus luxury brand sold 875 units of its new CT 200h hybrid premium compact in April, its second month on the market.
“The hybrid cars are drawing a lot of attention, but it isn’t just the cars but also small SUVs,” said Barney Niner, manager of Dan Deery Toyota in Cedar Falls. They are in shorter supply now, but they’re still available. We don’t have a lot sitting on the lot.”
General Motors’ Cruze has attracted considerable attention, said Derick Rogers, marketing agent with Rydell Chevrolet in Waterloo.
“It’s pretty much the best gas mileage car we have,” he said, noting that the Cruze Eco has a 42 mpg rating and the Chevrolet Aveo, with a starting price around $12,000 to $13,000, rates around 35 mpg.
Rogers said the dealership had three Cruzes in its inventory at the beginning of the week, down from 10.
GM’s new plug-in hybrid, the Volt, sold 493 copies in April and 1,703 since Jan. 1. The model is not yet available in the Cedar Valley.
Consumer demand for Ford’s fuel-efficient vehicles continues to grow, with April sales increasing 16 percent versus a year ago and year-to-date sales up 16 percent – totaling 686,498 vehicles.
For the second month in a row, sales for Ford’s new Fiesta eclipsed 9,000, and sales of the company’s Focus totaled 17,265, up 22 percent compared to a year ago.
The Fusion set a new April record with sales of 21,189, up 12 percent over a year ago.
Chrysler Group LLC reported U.S. sales of 117,225, a 22 percent increase over the 95,703 in April 2010 and its best April sales since 2008.
Sales of the new 2012 Fiat 500, rated at 38 mpg, were up 76 percent compared with the previous month of March 2011. In spite of the higher demand, there are bargains to be had, local dealers say.
“Inventories are a little tighter than in years past, so there’s good demand, but there’s zero percent financing on some models,” Colwell said. “If you look around, you can get a deal.”
Read the full and original article from the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier online addition here.