U.S. Car U.S. Car Sales Levels Verging on Great-Recession-Level Collapse - Brother Can You Spare A Dime

The AIADA reported that as the nation comes to grips with the worsening coronavirus pandemic, new car sales appear to be tumbling off a cliff, with a new report by J.D. Power warning that March retail demand could slip by as much as 41%, approaching levels that haven't been seen since the depths of the Great Recession a decade ago.

"Both the virus and its effect on new vehicle sales are expected to grow in severity throughout March," wrote Tyson Jominy, a Power vice president in a report released Wednesday afternoon.

After an unexpectedly strong 2019, with U.S. car sales reaching 17.1 million, the current year was expected to see a modest decline.

For its part, J.D. Power originally forecast a 0.5% dip in demand during March, and during the first week, the numbers weren't much worse, slipping about 1%. But then things took a sharp turn for the worse. By early last week, the drop in U.S. car sales had grown to 8%, by Friday 20%. And on Sunday, dealers reported a 36% decline overall, according to Jominy.