Power Information Network, LLC, Reports: California Vehicle Sales Struggle in October Due to Registration Fee Hike and Wildfires
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Nov. 6, 2003 -- Wildfires in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas, a statewide vehicle registration fee hike and a gubernatorial recall election contributed to sluggish new light-vehicle retail sales in California in October, according to Power Information Network (PIN) LLC, an affiliate of J.D. Power and Associates. The information is based on new-vehicle retail sales transactions for the entire month of October.
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Total automotive retail sales in California declined 33.1 percent from September to October, compared with a decline of 10.7 percent during the same period in 2002.
The Department of Motor Vehicles began charging California drivers who registered their vehicle on or after Oct. 1 up to three times the amount of the previous fees. The fee amounts to up to 2 percent of the vehicle's value. An executive order was signed by Governor Gray Davis in June in an effort to help the revenue-depleted state.
"New-vehicle retail sales in California definitely took a large hit in October," said Tom Libby, director of industry analysis for PIN. "Registration fees likely had consumers hesitating to buy a new vehicle. The wildfires and recall election also contributed to slower-than-expected sales in Southern California."
Retail sales for the other 49 states also dropped, but far less than the drop in California. Industry-level retail sales outside of California dropped 14.6 percent from September to October, compared with an 8.7 percent decline in 2002.
Among vehicle segments, the luxury vehicle market took the largest hit in California. Luxury vehicle retail sales in California declined 31.8 percent from September to October, compared with a decline of only 9 percent over the same period in 2002. Luxury vehicle retail sales in the other 49 states dropped 4 percent from September to October, compared with a 5 percent dip in 2002.
Sales volume changes are based on sales volume per selling day within each month. October had 27 selling days -- three more than in September.
ABOUT PIN
PIN's automotive solutions are based on the collection and analysis of daily new- and used-vehicle retail transaction information from more than 6,000 automotive franchises in 26 major U.S. markets. More than 200 details from individual new-vehicle purchase transactions are aggregated, cleansed and analyzed to help dealers, manufacturers and financial institutions better align sales, marketing and product distribution strategies. PIN's industry- leading automotive solutions incorporate consumer demand and sales information to improve results in product planning, marketing, sales, and vehicle production and distribution processes for its customers including pricing, revenue management, incentives optimization and vehicle remarketing. www.powerinfonet.com
ABOUT J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES
Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. www.jdpower.com
Media e-mail contact: john.tews@jdpa.com or michael.greywitt@jdpa.com
For further information, please contact: East Coast, John Tews, +1-248-267-6800, or West Coast, Michael Greywitt, +1-805-418-8000, both of J.D. Power and Associates.
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