There are many signs already that U.S. new vehicle market has slowed down, at the end of July the reports have showed that the industry reached the strongest selling rate. Within July, sales were 1.1% ahead of last year's record pace. The selling rate has grown less than it was expected, that is why many automakers started to fight the stagnation with some powerful incentives.
If all of these car brands are protecting their share, doesn't it mean the market is plateauing? The Ford's vice president said that the marketing is more competitive in the last six years. More than $655 per vehicle, comparing to last month were spent in July, that's an 18% increase. BMW's incentive spending jumped $1,884 which is 42%, and Volvo climbed $839, that's about 25%. The industry average rose $337 year-over-year, 11%. General Motors offered also some discounts which were up to 20% on many high-volume nameplates, including Chevrolet Silverado pickup, in early July. The president of Edwards Chevrolet, told to the media that at the beginning of the month a huge spurt was felt in auto sales, but it was steady the rest of the month.
In seven months this year, approximately 10.2 million cars were sold, and it's matching the industry's full-year 2009 tally of 10.4 million. July can be considered as the fifth consecutive month in which auto sales topped 1.5 million units, marking only the third such streak in history. A decline of at least 4.9% is expected to come in August. We can't tell that the car sales are falling, but they are not growing anymore. There's still a fair amount of pent-up demand, and many people are still looking for a new car to buy.
