CLEVELAND — More new vehicles are getting sold in Greater Cleveland, where pent-up demand and the fact that cars are actually on car lots is fueling an increase.
Car dealerships sold 19,401 new vehicles in June, up 16% compared to the same month last year, according to the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association’s monthly reports covering 21 counties. May saw a 15% increase year-over-year. March and April saw steady sales, but January and February were light on sales compared to 2022.
Since January, the dealerships have sold 105,520 new vehicles, up 5% compared to 2022. But despite the increases, sales are down 13% when compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Louis Vitantonio, president of the Dealers’ Association, says dealerships are capitalizing on good trends.
“While March always sees the biggest jump in terms of overall sales, June’s figures this year are capitalizing on the end of major inventory woes on dealer lots,” Vitantonio said in a press release. “Intimidating interest rates are losing the battle against pent-up demand and manufacturer finance incentives — a trend that we anticipate will continue through the second half of the year.”
New vehicle sales have been, well, volatile over the last few years. Sales figures were high in 2020 and early 2021 as demand spiked. Then when inventory issues arose, sales slumped.
About 236,000 new vehicles were sold in the 21-county area in 2020 and 2021, down from 250,000 in 2019 and 2018. In 2022, those same counties saw just 197,000 new vehicles sold.
