Edmunds Jessica Caldwell: SUVs, Crossovers Surging

“As April comes to a close, trends for 2015 begin to take shape, for further insight into the retail automotive market; DrivingSales News spoke to Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds. According to Caldwell, the auto sales market is settling into a groove.”

“Well generally the first quarter was good, generally, January and February aren’t massive sales months, but March is, so it definitely ended on a higher point and I think the market is just settling into a good place you’re not going to see massive increase in sales like we’ve seen in the past

Also, according to Caldwell, inventory for the Used Car market is showing more promise.

“The used car market is getting to the point where there’s more inventory. For a long time the used market was really starved for inventory and it wasn’t as good a business as a lot of dealers were hoping for and it seems like inventory is growing and the prices are growing there as well.”

In early 2015 CEO of AutoNation Mike Jackson declared that truck sales are very strong, especially with low gas prices. Caldwell feels that trucks are looking strong but their inventory won’t be at full strength for a few months.

“As we go into the second quarter particularly towards the end you’ll see a lot of that inventory there and so then we’ll see truck sales probably pick up a little but right now I’d say they’re doing fine I’d say they’re a little overshadowed in terms of total sales by SUVs.”

While trucks commanded the attention of the early part of 2015, Caldwell feels that SUVs and crossovers are performing even better.

“Gas prices have been low we’ve seen an explosion of SUV sales. You talk to any automaker they can’t make enough crossover SUVs and they’re not selling fuel-efficient vehicles. Especially the compact crossover, that segment has really taken off. In terms of segment, it’s probably the biggest retail segment right now in the U.S. and the most in-demand.”

Finally, Caldwell provided her tips about keeping your customers by keeping your customers happy

“For dealers it becomes about keeping your customers and keeping your customers happy, making sure they come in for service making sure they come in when their lease is up, when they’re ready to buy a new car, because that’s where the differentiation is going to be. You’re not just going to get incremental sales by the market growing so it’s really becoming more of a service play rather than a we’re selling so many cars its hard to focus on anything else type of a thing.”

Where do you see retail automotive headed in 2015? Industry experts have predicted 17 million units will be sold in 2015, based on what you’ve seen at your store, is the industry in shape to come together for that figure?