New vehicle sales in the U.S. are expected to close 2020 down at least 15%

NEW YORK–Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. are expected to close 2020 down at least 15%, which would mark one of the industry's worst annual declines since at least 1980.
Vehicle Sales

But as CNBC reported, “In any normal year, such a rapid fall would have meant an industry in crisis. But in 2020, the overwhelming sentiment is ‘it could have been worse’.”

CNBC reminded that during the first peak of COVID-19 in the Spring,  sales of new vehicles collapsed as auto plants shuttered and many dealers were forced to close showrooms. J.D. Power even forecast retail sales would decline by as much as 80% in April, leading to likely near-recession sales levels for the year.

But retail sales to consumers rebounded far faster than anyone forecast, the report stated. Sales during the second quarter declined by about 34%. They were largely driven by rock-bottom interest rates, historically long financing offers and people wanting to hit the open road instead of taking public transportation or airlines, CNBC reported.

"A big comeback story of 2020 is without a doubt the recovery of retail vehicle sales, which have nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels," Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of insights, told the news outlet.

2020 sales

Edmunds is projecting new vehicle sales to be down 15.5% this year when the final statistics are released in roughly two weeks. That's in line with other industry estimates calling for sales of about 14.4 million to 14.6 million new vehicles in 2020 – down from 17 million in the past five years on average. Cox Automotive is forecasting a 15.3% decline, while TrueCar expects a 15% loss compared with 2019 sales.