Undeterred by high prices, rising interest rates, autoworker strikes and a computer-chip shortage that slowed assembly lines, American consumers still bought 15.6 million new vehicles last year, 12% more than in 2022, the biggest increase in more than a decade.
Yet sales still haven't returned to the 17 million rate in the years before the pandemic, and there are signs of a cooling market as buyers aren't as willing to pay astronomical prices that dealers and manufacturers were charging just months ago.
"You see the consumer making a concerted effort to ensure that they're getting the best price possible," said Jonathan Chariff, CEO of South Automotive Group, a 10-dealership group in the Miami area. "They basically feel that this is the right time to buy from a perspective of being able to get the discounts."
Average auto sales prices peaked in December of 2022 just over US$47,300, with vehicles in short supply because of the global chip shortage that limited production. Some dealers were able to charge over the sticker price to buyers who needed a new ride or had the money to get one.
But the chip shortage gradually eased last year to the point where it's nearly over, and assembly lines are running at near normal speeds. General Motors, Ford and Stellantis endured six-week strikes by the United Auto Workers that ended last fall. As a result, vehicle supplies on dealer lots are strong and growing, and prices are starting to fall as automakers and dealers dangle discounts.
Data from J.D. Power show that average prices in mid-December were down 2.7% from the peak, to around US$46,000. But they're still nowhere near pre-pandemic prices due to a 26% runup from 2020 to 2022 as cash-rich buyers drove up prices mainly by buying loaded-out trucks and SUVs. That was about 10 percentage points higher than the inflation rate for the same period.
Still, Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Cox Automotive, said he expects the gap between the sticker price and the transaction price that consumers pay to widen this year. "We do think that the tables start to turn in 2024," he said. "Discounting will be the key difference in why transaction prices are declining."
Discounts, on average, more than doubled year over year in November, Smoke said. "I think we're starting to see signs that manufacturers are starting to put more into making financing more attractive," he said, adding that they're also offering more attractive lease deals.
New vehicle loans averaged around 7% for most of the year, and those could drop even if the Federal Reserve doesn't start to cut rates, Smoke said.
He and Chariff also say that dealers have had to discount as well. In South Florida, Chariff said he isn't seeing customer demand back off. His dealerships had strong December sales without the normal lull during the week before Christmas.
There may be more buyers at the lower, more affordable end of the market, which already was heating up last year as supplies rose. For example, sales of the Chevrolet Trax small SUV, which starts at US$21,495 including shipping, grew to more than 109,000 last year, four times the 2022 number.
Electric vehicle sales grew 47% to a record 1.19 million for the full year, according to Motorintelligence.com. The EV market share grew from 5.8% in 2022 to 7.6% last year. But EV sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%.
Gas-electric hybrid sales grew 54% to 1.2 million last year, with market share leaping from 5.6% in 2022 to 7.7%.
Among manufacturers, General Motors, the top seller in the U.S., posted a strong 14% sales increase for the year. Toyota sales grew 7%, while Honda was up 33%. Nissan sales grew 23%, with Hyundai up 12%. Stellantis, maker of Jeep, Ram and other vehicles, saw its sales drop about 1% for the year.
Ford's F-Series pickup trucks are likely to remain the top selling vehicle in the U.S. when the company reports numbers on Thursday. But General Motors said it sold more full-size pickups than Ford -- 839,517 -- with its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra combined.
Toyota's RAV4 small SUV was the country's top-selling vehicle that wasn't a pickup truck. RAV4 sales rose 9% last year to almost 435,000.
Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are going head to head tonight for the first and only planned vice-presidential debate of this U.S. election cycle. Watch the debate live on CTVNews.ca along with real-time commentary and analysis from journalists and experts.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio are facing off Tuesday night in New York City for their first – and only – U.S. vice-presidential debate. Here is a live fact check of everything being said between the two.
Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday, the latest in a series of escalating attacks in a yearslong conflict between Israel and Iran and its Arab allies that threatens to push the Middle East closer toward a regionwide war.
Israel's ambassador to Canada says the international community needs to send a 'concise, concentrated, focused message to the Iranian regime,' following attacks on Israel Tuesday.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn't mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.
A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.
The president of e-commerce giant Shopify Inc. wants Canada to address a problem he calls "the 600-pound beaver in the room."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government survived another Conservative-led non-confidence vote on Tuesday, the second in less than a week. This, the same day the Bloc Quebecois had an opportunity to table a non-confidence motion of its own, opting instead to push the Liberals to support one of its key demands.
A 13-year-old girl has been charged with allegedly murdering her s-year-old sister in Taylor over the weekend.
The leader of the B.C. Conservative party is once again under fire for comments related to climate change – this time for suggesting there is an "anti-human agenda" behind the push to confront warming global temperatures.
A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.
The lawyer for "Freedom Convoy" organizer Chris Barber told a judge Monday that a court order banning honking in downtown Ottawa during the protest wasn't clear enough.
A British Columbia lawyer has resigned from the provincial law society after he sexually harassed staff at his law firm, including attempts to surreptitiously photograph one employee without her knowledge, according to the regulator.
Calgary five most expensive homes for sale as of Oct. 1, 2024.
Kingston, Ont. police say several people have been arrested and charged following a break-in at a home in the city's east end last week.
Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose their respective running mates for president, opening their vice presidential debate by addressing the growing fears of a regional war in the Middle East and a natural disaster that has ravaged the southeastern U.S.
An airplane carrying Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva back to Brasilia has landed safely at the Felipe Angeles airport, north of Mexico City, after circling for hours due to a technical problem, Brazil's press secretary said Tuesday.
New York magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi is publicly accusing her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza, a prominent political journalist with Politico, of orchestrating a harassment and blackmail campaign against her after their split and while Nuzzi had a personal relationship with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
CBS News said Tuesday that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has declined to participate in an interview with “60 Minutes†for its election special, which will go forward next Monday with Democratic opponent Kamala Harris alone.
An 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in Central Asia and the U.S. to create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota.
A 13-year-old girl has been charged with allegedly murdering her s-year-old sister in Taylor over the weekend.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government survived another Conservative-led non-confidence vote on Tuesday, the second in less than a week. This, the same day the Bloc Quebecois had an opportunity to table a non-confidence motion of its own, opting instead to push the Liberals to support one of its key demands.
As war spread in the Middle East on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly 'unequivocally' condemned Iran's move to fire dozens of missiles into Israel and called for no further escalation in the war from all sides.
The Chinese community in Canada has long been caught in the crosshairs of political discourse, disinformation and propaganda originating from the Communist Party in Beijing, a media industry veteran told a public inquiry Tuesday.
A woman with the rare condition of two uteruses delivered twins, one from each womb, last month at a hospital in northwestern China, according to health officials and state media.
This fall and winter, Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut will offer the newer monoclonal antibody nirsevimab — approved by Health Canada in the spring of 2023 — to all babies going through their first RSV season.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it is not providing Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine this respiratory virus season, citing low demand.
The bracket for 2024's Fat Bear Week contest was revealed Tuesday night, but only after a deadly bear-on-bear attack at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve on Monday delayed the unveiling.
Archeologists in Denmark have unearthed more than 50 'exceptionally well preserved' skeletons in a large Viking-era burial ground in the east of the country.
The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday's arrival of a SpaceX capsule.
Amazon announced Tuesday the removal of a memoir from its site that purports to tell the story of an abusive relationship between the late actor and model Kim Porter and her longtime partner, hip-hop mogul Sean â€Diddy" Combs.
An attorney said Tuesday he is representing 120 accusers who have come forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Sean “Diddy†Combs, the hip-hop mogul who is awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Frank Fritz, who appeared on the History Channel antiques collector show 'American Pickers,' has died, according to his co-presenter and 'American Pickers' creator Mike Wolfe. Fritz was 60.
The president of e-commerce giant Shopify Inc. wants Canada to address a problem he calls "the 600-pound beaver in the room."
Restaurant company SIR Corp. is investigating a cybersecurity incident that has impacted part of its information technology infrastructure.
The 45,000 dockworkers who went on strike Tuesday for the first time in decades at 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas may wield the upper hand in their standoff with port operators over wages and the use of automation.
Baby hippo, Moo Deng, has become a viral sensation, with her adorable photos and videos flooding social media and even earning a skit on Saturday Night Live.
A code of conduct will be enforced on the online dating industry to better protect Australian users after research found that three-in-four people suffer some form of sexual violence through the platforms, Australia’s government said on Tuesday.
If you find it odd that Kate McKinnon chose her first book to be for middle-grade kids, the former “Saturday Night Live†star says, think again.
It was an exciting weekend for hockey fans in Sudbury, as the city hosted an NHL preseason game.
Ryan Hunter's athleticism has been on full display since his arrival in the CFL, but the Canadian's versatility is now shining through.
Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.
General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle division will pay a US$1.5 million penalty after the unit failed to fully report a crash involving a pedestrian, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday.
A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
A U.S. driver somehow squeezed her vehicle through a parkade hallway at a Metro Vancouver casino Thursday, before getting stuck at an elevator bank.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
On Saturday night at her parents’ home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.
A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.
A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.
Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.
A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.
An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Vancouver Police Department is expecting to be over budget by the end of the year, according to a report.
An Indigenous family has filed a human rights complaint against retail giant Canadian Tire over a pair of incidents that happened on the same day at the company’s Coquitlam, B.C., location.
The goat found wandering around East Vancouver Friday night is headed home, police say.
A 33-year-old man has been arrested after two females were found dead inside a home in Courtice, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Food insecurity in Mississauga has reached an unprecedented and unwanted milestone.
One person is dead and two others are in hospital after a break-in at a Mississauga home early Tuesday morning ended in gunfire, Peel police say.
Calgary police say they're investigating the attack of a prominent local radio host over the weekend.
A man has been charged with sexual assault following an incident involving a seven-year-old girl in Calgary's Fish Creek Park in August.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn't mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.
Last summer, Garfield Park celebrated its opening as a fully fenced-in off-leash dog park, but a year later it turns out it was all a big mistake.
Kingston, Ont. police say several people have been arrested and charged following a break-in at a home in the city's east end last week.
Community members are searching for Nacho the kitten, who was allegedly stolen from an Orléans pet store last week.
Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are going head to head tonight for the first and only planned vice-presidential debate of this U.S. election cycle. Watch the debate live on CTVNews.ca along with real-time commentary and analysis from journalists and experts.
Montreal police (SPVM) say they have arrested a man in connection with an alleged bank robbery in the borough of Saint-Leonard that occurred on Sept. 28.
Quebec's language will have unexpected consequences on music retailers as they brace for major changes in the new year.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn't mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.
"The Fair Compensation Project will include advocacy on several ways that the City of Edmonton is not being fairly compensated for the services we provide," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.
Alberta's premier shared new details Tuesday about her government's proposed gender legislation.
The Nova Scotia RCMP is continuing its search for a missing woman after finding her vehicle in Pictou County last week.
A Progressive Conservative candidate in New Brunswick’s upcoming election is under fire Tuesday morning for a Facebook post she made on Truth and Reconciliation Day.
A familiar face for Maritimers and those who watch the Canadian series "Trailer Park Boys" is combining his love of art and cats.
The Winnipeg Police Service is looking for a new helicopter to replace the current aircraft, which has been in service for 15 years.
A 44-year-old woman has died after a two-vehicle crash on a Manitoba highway Tuesday morning.
Manitoba Hydro reported a $157 million consolidated net loss according to the company's 2023-24 fiscal update.
Over the weekend, the Saskatchewan Roughriders wore their Indigenous-themed logo for the first time at Mosaic Stadium.
Saskatchewan residents will vote for their next provincial government on Oct. 28.
Sentencing in relation to a fatal incident in 2020 that left two experienced SaskPower workers dead has been adjourned until Oct. 18, according to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
A Guelph man charged with the hit-and-run death of a well-known community advocate and has now been charged in a separate collision.
Â鶹´«Ã½ Kitchener took home two Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Canada awards on Tuesday night.
The second Ontario Civilian Police Commission hearing for Guelph Police Services Constable Corey McArthur continued in Guelph on Tuesday.
An Ahtahkakoop man who came to prominence in Saskatchewan’s Indigenous business community and helped thousands of First Nations people complete their education died on Friday.
Saskatchewan residents will vote for their next provincial government on Oct. 28.
Exclusive polling data collected by Â鶹´«Ã½ in partnership with Insightrix outlines what preferences voters have, if they’re familiar with the party leaders and what issues matter most as Saskatchewan enters into the 2024 provincial election campaign.
Two 17-year-olds have been charged in Elliot Lake with breaking into Centennial Arena and causing $50,000 in damage.
A West Nipissing family whose son died minutes after he was born is raising money to buy comfort care equipment for families grieving the loss of a newborn child.
As the investigation continues into the fatal northern Ontario house fire that killed four people on the evening of Sept. 19, police have released some details about the victims.
Erin Fredin needs a liver transplant and is now appealing to the public. By sharing her story, she hopes to find a living donor.
Emotional victim impact statements were read into court Tuesday at the sentencing of a couple convicted of tying up, beating, and sexually assaulting their children during their upbringing.
Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are going head to head tonight for the first and only planned vice-presidential debate of this U.S. election cycle. Watch the debate live on CTVNews.ca along with real-time commentary and analysis from journalists and experts.
Tributes have started pouring in for a Midland, Ont. man who died after reportedly being struck by an unmarked provincial police vehicle over the weekend.
Provincial police handed a 22-year-old driver accused of being impaired a lengthy licence suspension after conducting a traffic stop along Highway 400 over the weekend.
Moffatt's Mazda in Barrie has been implementing a new video service that allows customers to see what their mechanics see, to be as transparent as possible.
A 21-year-old Windsor man is on trial in Superior Court for trying to join a terrorist organization.
New cases of human smuggling along the shores of Canada's southernmost region occur almost daily, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are going head to head tonight for the first and only planned vice-presidential debate of this U.S. election cycle. Watch the debate live on CTVNews.ca along with real-time commentary and analysis from journalists and experts.
A young man has been charged with first-degree murder after police were called to investigate a suspicious death on Vancouver Island over the weekend.
A British Columbia lawyer has resigned from the provincial law society after he sexually harassed staff at his law firm, including attempts to surreptitiously photograph one employee without her knowledge, according to the regulator.
David Eby promised to expand financial supports and job protections for sick British Columbians if he wins this month's provincial election, throwing barbs at his main opponent in the process.
A father in Kelowna is furious after his 13-year-old daughter was brutally beaten on Gyro Beach. He is calling for criminal charges in the devastating attack, which was caught on video by multiple bystanders.
The officer who shot and killed a forcible confinement suspect in Kamloops two years ago was justified in doing so, according to the Independent Investigations Office of B.C.
Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.
From offering two meals a week to three a day, the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen has grown immensely over the past 40 years.
The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.
A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.
A 40-year-old in Sault Ste. Marie who was on probation has been charged with assault with a weapon following an incident in August.
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard took the stand in his sexual assault trial on Tuesday, denying that he raped his accuser and painting a dramatically different picture of their encounter eight years ago.
Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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