Cox Automotive forecasts 1.25 million new-vehicle sales in September 2019, which would represent a 14% drop from the previous year.
Manheim's president who oversees the inventory solutions unit offers thoughts on fleet mobility services, bringing artificial intelligence to inspections, and the company's diversification strategy.
Through the 12-month period ending in June 2019, overall manufacturer incentive spend has declined, and the strength of fleet sales this year has been a big reason why.
Overall used vehicle values are at strong levels. Crossover values are holding steady but there is cause for concern in the near future. Sedan values are expected to improve or stabilize as more crossovers enter the market.
Outside factors such as a record-spanning government shutdown, the polar vortex, and a hit to consumer confidence led to a slow start to used sales in 2019.
Prices and volume are not expected to plummet in 2019, but industry experts seem to feel that the best-case scenario will be a plateau, and more realistically, will fall slightly.
Prior to 2018, sedans at auction had experienced three years of consecutive value declines. For sedan-heavy fleets, this may have meant an impact to total cost of ownership for those vehicles, as profits from remarketing them would have suffered. Now companies with sedan-heavy fleets may be finding that a window of opportunity to remarket those vehicles for better profit has emerged.
Mass adoption of autonomous vehicles should begin ramping up in 2023 and will ultimately drive a shift in vehicle ownership from consumers to larger mobility service providers with large fleets of battery-electric, autonomous vehicles, according to a new study from Cox Automotive.
Cox Automotive has established a new mobility services unit that combines existing businesses, such as its Flexdrive subscription service, with its acquisition of Clutch Technologies' subscription software platform to deliver fleet management solutions for mobility fleets, the company has announced.
Used-vehicle sales will rise and new-vehicle sales will fall in 2018, while total sales will reach 56.2 million, which would represent a second year of declines for the automotive industry, according to a Cox Automotive forecast.