U.S. Auto Dealer Expectations Sink to All-Time Low

Washington DC December 12, 2018; The AIADA reported that U.S. auto dealers are not optimistic about market demand for new cars, either in the current quarter or in the first quarter of next year. In fact, dealer expectations for the coming quarter turned negative for the first time ever, reports 24/7 Wall St. The conclusions are based on the Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment survey and index for the fourth quarter of 2018 released Monday. The overall sentiment index from franchise and independent dealers came in at 44 for the fourth quarter, down from 51 in the third quarter and from 46 in the fourth quarter of 2017. An index score ranges from 0 to 100, and any number over 50 indicates that more dealers view conditions as strong rather than weak. When an index is below 50, overall sentiment is negative. When asked what they expected the market in their areas to look like in three months, the overall index score was 49, down from 57 in the third quarter and from 53 in the fourth quarter of 2017. That’s the first time ever that this index score has dropped below 50. Read more here.