Auto sales pick up speed even as economy sputters
Oct 2nd, 2012 by josephluiz
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/auto-sales-pick-up-speed-even-as-economy-sputters/article4581844/
This article discusses the recent increase in global sales of motor vehicles since last year. A major increase in sales has been seen in the U.S. market “which hit 14.9 million sales on an… annual basis,” however Canada has also had an increase in sales with the “highest numbers since September, 2000.”
The Canadian economy has been more stable than that of the U.S. over the last year and can be seen as a reason for the increase in automotive sales in Canada. However, the U.S. has also seen a rise in total sales, in particular, fuel-efficient cars. In fact, this month was “Ford’s best small car sales month in a decade.” It seems that what the consumer values is changing. The price of gas has increased and thus consumers are becoming more fuel conscious, and buying more fuel-efficient cars. This shift in the type of cars purchased indicates that the market for more fuel-efficient vehicles is growing and now would be a good time for firms think about capitalising on the increase of such a demand. Firms should always remain aware of changing consumer trends and facilitate the demand in order to maximise profits.
If the world economy stays stable, sales of cars are predicted to continue to increase, however many factors could effect sales and the economy is only one of them. International automotive firms have also seen a larger increase in sales with various German and Japanese based companies outselling major American brands such as Ford.