US retailers faced competition for customers from car sellers on Thanksgiving weekend, as auto dealers offered bargains on vehicles as alluring as any discounted TV or stereo system.
November has long been a notoriously slow month for car sales in the US. However, in recent years car dealers have joined in the Thanksgiving weekend sales extravaganza, making November one of the best months of the year for auto sales in recent years, Edmunds.com director of industry analysis Jessica Caldwell said.
“Last year, Thanksgiving weekend accounted for twice as many sales as any other weekend in November. We expect to see both trends continue this year,” Caldwell said in a note to investors.
The activity on Friday in a cluster of new car dealerships near a busy intersection just outside Detroit confirmed the trend.
“It’s going to be one of the busiest days of the year,” said Melvin Holmes, a sales consultant at Tamaroff Honda, one of the dealerships.
National advertising by Honda Motor Co and special promotions by the dealership — everyone buying a car Friday or Saturday received a tablet computer, an Xbox or Wii game system, or a US$350 gift card — were helping draw crowds, Holmes said.
In addition, Toyota Motor Corp and its luxury car brand Lexus, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand, General Motors Co’s Chevrolet division, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s US subsidiary, formerly the Chrysler Group, all ran special promotions for Black Friday — with deals often extending to yesterday — and the Christmas holidays.
Eric Lyman with TrueCar.com, a vehicle pricing and information Web site for buyers and dealers, said that Black Friday sales could help set a record and push the seasonally adjusted annualized rate for light vehicle sales this month to 18.6 million units, the strongest pace of any month this year.
“This continues to be a standout year for the industry, with November sales likely setting a monthly record,” Lyman said. “Consumers are excited about Black Friday ... and these month-long events appear to be resonating with car buyers.”
Overall US vehicle sales have been rising steadily since sinking to a monthly low of 9.95 million units in June 2009.
In the past five years car sales have consistently peaked in November and December, going from 12.03 million in December 2010 to 17.22 million in December last year. Figures for November sales were slightly higher than December in 2013 and last year, at 16.48 million and 17.44 million respectively.
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