Northern Ohio auto dealers in November broke a recent cold streak, as vehicle sales rose nearly 6% from the like month a year ago. Powered by strong sales of trucks and SUVs, new vehicle dealers sold 18,692 last month, up 5.8% from 17,661 in November 2015.
November sales rebounded with a showing of strong truck sales coupled with cars virtually flat with 2015. Continuing a trend seen for the last 11 months, truck and SUV sales drove the market, with dealers selling 7,468 units last month compared to 6,359 units in November 2015, an increase of 17.3%. New car sales were flat with last year, with dealers selling 11,234 vehicles in the month, which is 68 vehicles less than they did in November 2015.
Through the end of November, franchised new vehicle dealers across Northern Ohio have sold 225,489 vehicles compared with 231,186 last year at this time, a decrease of about 2.5%. Meanwhile, sales of trucks and SUVs are up 7.5% this year through the end of November. Retail sales figures are based on vehicle registration reports from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
