What Car Retailers Should Expect Going into Spring 2022

When planning for the future, looking back at past months and years is important as it can offer a lot of insight into what the future may hold. This is true for pretty much all industries, but especially true for the automotive industry. In an industry that is constantly changing, staying up to date with all of the latest sales trends is incredibly important.

Today, we’ll be going over past and current sales figures, what they mean for dealerships, and what we should expect going into Spring 2022.

Sales Are Ramping Up This Month, But Not For Long

The auto industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and it has still yet to fully recover. But despite still struggling to fully regain its footing, sales have still managed to climb quite a bit in the past several months. Interestingly enough, sales figures for the months of February and March share a striking resemblance to last year’s sales. 

Auto sales had a huge peak in sales in Q1 2021, with brands such as Lexus, Hyundai, Genesis, Subaru, and Mazda all seeing over a 100 percent increase in sales. Sales are similarly ramping up this month, and closely resembling 2021’s sales increases. 

But at the same time, if we are to believe that sales will continue to match last year’s, then retailers should also anticipate sales numbers to slow down in April. Sales peaked at the end of March 2021, but it’s likely that the increase was largely thanks to stimulus checks from the prior month. Sales sharply declined in April 2021, as a result of lowered consumer spending, lower hiring rates, and rising fears of COVID-19.

Newer Cars Are in Abundance, While Older Ones Are More Rare

Due to the continued microchip shortage, car manufacturers are still struggling to keep up with demand. Auto Forecast Solutions predicts that a whopping 11.3 million vehicles will not be produced globally as a result of the shortage. Additionally, retailers have found that 2022 will see a steady increase in sales and stock of newer cars (1-3 years old) and a sharp decline in models 4-5 years old.

In other words, newer cars are in abundance, while older ones are much more rare and hard to come by. This issue has had a direct impact on the price of used vehicles, with prices higher than ever. It was found that the prices of used electric vehicles are similarly high, with their prices being 27 percent higher than they were in March 2021, on average.

Car Sales May Be Affected by Current Events

Even though much of the data supporting these sales forecasts is backed up by highly reputable sources, sales can sometimes be unpredictable. Uncontrollable outside forces– like the current Russia-Ukraine conflict and soaring gas prices– have a way of affecting the economy in negative ways. 

Recent studies have shown that the rising gas prices have not yet impacted car sales, though we will have to see if this changes as time goes on. There are heavy debates going on regarding gas prices, and just how much prices will be affected by Russia sanctions, but we will just have to wait and see. 

Car shoppers may change their tune depending on the direction that the economy moves in these next few weeks, so all of these sales forecasts should be taken with a heavy grain of salt. Even though prices seem somewhat stable for now, we’ll have to wait and see if current events will have any effect on them.

Prepare for the Future with Super Dispatch

But while we can’t see the future, we can do our best to prepare for it. And the best way to prepare is by investing in a solution that allows for maximum flexibility, time efficiency, and control of your business. Super Dispatch offers a TMS solution that does just this, by providing a convenient platform for car shippers and carriers to more easily handle capacity issues, simplify the billing process, and offer better service to customers.

Sign up to try a demo of the Super Dispatch Shipper TMS!

Published on March 9, 2022