Facts About Industry Sectors

Automotive

2007 was a very challenging year for the automotive industry.
North American light vehicle sales for 2007 totaled 16.15 million – down 2½% from 2006's total.
Industry experts are predicting a grim 2008, with sales falling again by about 2½% to the 15.7 million to 15.8 million unit range.
GM encountered severe problems, as highlighted by its (-$39) billion third quarter loss – the second largest quarterly loss in U.S. corporate history.
For the first time in 75 years, Ford did not follow GM in marketshare, as Toyota took the no. 2 spot by 48,000 units.
The price of new cars continued to increase for domestic models to just over $20,000, while dropping about $1,000 for imported models to $28,700.
According to the Blue Book, VW has the best residuals. New VW's hold about 48.1% of their original sticker after 5 years, followed by BMW at 45.6%, and Acura at 45.4%. At the bottom, Suzuki only retains 27.6% of its value, followed by Kia at 30.4%, GMC, Mercury, Dodge and Chrysler – all at about 32.5%.
In the wholesale car market, overall, the average used car price declined by 0.9%, after decreasing by 3.2% a year ago; and the average used light truck prices increased by 1.1% after falling by 0.6% a year ago.
Lease penetration increased last year to 27.3% from 24.5% the year before.
The outlook for the automotive industry in 2008 can best be described as bleak.