Washington area sales jumped nearly 20% in 3rd quarter and track U.S. for 1st nine months

Washington area sales jumped nearly 20% in 3rd quarter and track U.S. for 1st nine months

Washington area new auto sales rose nearly 20 percent in the third quarter from a year ago and a robust 13.3 percent for the first nine months of 2012, according to WANADAs Area Report based on R.L. Polk new-vehicle registration data. The year-to-date increase is about the same as for national sales for the same period, which were up 14.5 percent.

Sales for the 12 major localities that make up the metro region here were 77,670 for the third quarter and 222,160 year to date through September. A strong fourth quarter would put the total for the year above 300,000, which is anticipated based on reports of a strong 4th quarter finish across the U.S. New vehicle sales in the region were fairly evenly distributed across July, August and September.

2012 imports (non-Detroit 3 vehicles) continued to dominate the new vehicle market here over the first three quarters. Import vehicles, cars and light trucks, made up 70 percent of Washington area sales, which is substantially more than the 55 percent that were import sales nationwide. Light truck sales here were 45.8 percent of the market by September 30 YTD 2012, which is less, but not dramatically, than nationally where light trucks are 49 percent of the market during this timeframe.

For the complete WANADA Area Report, September 30 YTD 2012, click here to log in the Members Section of the WANADA website. You will find the report under General Information and then Marketing and Sales Data.