Car prices are up, and luxury is in demand – Newsday
Vito and Phyllis Altamura stuck to what they knew when car shopping.
The Manhasset couples small four-door car, a 2014 Nissan Versa, died a few weeks ago, so they bought a 2021 Versa last week at Legend Nissan in Syosset.
Vito Altamura has been working from home in his internet marketing job since last March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, while his wife is a stay-at-home mom.
"Honestly, we didnt need to buy a car because were not going anywhere," said Phyllis Altamura, 50.
But they decided to replace their car because paying for rental cars and Ubers gets pricey, and they figured they would get a good deal on a new car, they said.
They were right but whats going on in the car sales business now is a two-sided story.
Average cost: $40,320
The latest LI business news in your inbox Monday through Friday.
By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy.
After a pandemic-related decline in car sales last year due to months of dealership closings, high unemployment and manufacturers shutting down factories, car dealerships are seeing a big incease in customer demand for new cars, auto industry experts said.
But there is not enough supply to meet the demand, so prices are rising.
In fact, the average transaction price nationally in the first quarter of this year is expected to hit a record high of $40,320, said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds, an auto retail information company based in Santa Monica, California.
The average car price on Long Island is $42,756, according to iSeeCars.com, an online auto search engine company based in Woburn, Massachusetts.
There was an inventory shortage of 700,000 new automobiles in the United States this month, said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, a market research company based in Troy, Mich.
In January and February, retail sales of cars were up 5% compared to the same two months last year, he said.
"We could be doing even better than 5% right now if we had more cars to sell," he said.
The unmet demand is due to a number of factors, including more carless people deciding to forgo shared public transport, and others moving to areas where they couldn't easily get around without their own cars, said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com.
Other factors in the auto inventory issues include a global shortage of microchips needed for cars, and auto manufacturers trying to catch up on production numbers after temporarily closing factories due to the pandemic last year.
Luxury sales
While the unemployment rate is high, many consumers who have remained employed and working remotely have more disposable income since they werent able to spend it on concerts, vacations and other leisure activities over the last year because of pandemic-related business shutdowns, Jominy said.
Those mid- and high-income earners are buying cars expensive cars.
Sales of cars priced at $80,000 to $90,000 rose 90% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019, and sales of cars priced at more than $40,000 grew 23%.
Overall high demand for cars and insufficient inventory have sent retail car prices rising 7% to 10% monthly, with prices rising $3,000 a month on average, Jominy said.
The good news for consumers is that the value of used cars is increasing, so they get more credit for trade-ins. Also, consumers are managing higher car prices by getting longer-term loans, taking advantage of low interest rates and using all or part of their federal stimulus payments for down payments, which is what the Altamuras did.
At Smithtown Toyota, sales were up about 17% in January and February compared to the same two months last year, said Denis Dagger, vice president and general manager. Last year was tough for the dealership, he said.
"If it wasnt for a strong fourth quarter last year, it would have been a total disaster," he said.
He is seeing shoppers being more conservative with their spending, he said.
"In other words, people arent going for all the bells and whistles," he said.
Chip supply worries
Not only is Legend Nissan getting less inventory from the manufacturer, but there are worries about the chip issue, said Wayne Siegel, co-owner of the dealership.
"If it wasnt for this chip factor, I think that we would see a tremendous uptick in business," he said.
Sales in January and February were down about 23% but that is only because sales during the same two months last year were so high, he said. Legend Nissans sales are going well now, Siegel said.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
More:
Car prices are up, and luxury is in demand - Newsday
- Mozilla reclaims the Internet in new rebrand - Marketing Interactive - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- Insights into the Digital Brand Registration Platform Market - openPR - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- IPG sells Huge and buys tech: has digital been trumped by data? - More About Advertising - December 5th, 2024 [December 5th, 2024]
- Satellite Internet Market to Reach USD 15.07 Billion by 2030, Growing at a CAGR of 12.65% - openPR - December 5th, 2024 [December 5th, 2024]
- (PDF) WhatsApp Business Application as a Digital Marketing Strategy of UMKM - ResearchGate - December 5th, 2024 [December 5th, 2024]
- 20+ Must-have Digital Marketing Tools: Skyrocket Your ROI - Simplilearn - December 2nd, 2024 [December 2nd, 2024]
- Hindustan Unilever shares a glimpse into the future of Internet, Advertising and Traditional Media - CNBCTV18 - December 2nd, 2024 [December 2nd, 2024]
- Director of digital marketing vs. CMO: Which pays better in ecommerce? - Digital Commerce 360 - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Haoxi Health Secures RMB30M Digital Advertising Contract with Tengyuan Media | HAO Stock News - StockTitan - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- 14 Benefits of Digital Marketing in 2025 - Simplilearn - November 28th, 2024 [November 28th, 2024]
- Meet The Founder of a Black-Owned Digital Marketing Agency Devoted to Helping Black Businesses Thrive Online - The Citizen Newspaper Group - November 23rd, 2024 [November 23rd, 2024]
- Internet of Everything Market to reach a market size of USD 59.40 billion by 2030 - openPR - November 23rd, 2024 [November 23rd, 2024]
- 24 AI marketing tools your team should be using in 2025 - Sprout Social - November 17th, 2024 [November 17th, 2024]
- U.S. B2B CMOs' expected change in ad spend 2024 - Statista - November 17th, 2024 [November 17th, 2024]
- Meet the Founder of a Black-Owned Digital Marketing Agency Devoted to Helping Black Businesses Thrive Online - BlackNews.com - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- Digital advertising spending in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2007 to 2020 - Statista - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- MyOnlineMarketer.co.uk and The Funnel Guys Announce Strategic - openPR - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- Digital Marketing Services Market Growing Popularity and Emerging Trends in the Industry - openPR - November 12th, 2024 [November 12th, 2024]
- Web Marketing Association's 23rd IAC Awards to Name Best Online Advertising Campaigns - PR.com - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- All the tools of the trade: Digital Marketing Lab provides space for experience and experimentation - Bryant University - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Online payments and ordering company Tech 2 Success Acquires Supply Wizards - Vending Market Watch - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- In Depth: AI Is Taking Internet Advertising by Storm, but at What Cost? - Caixin Global - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Reinventing the Digital Agency Model with a Global Marketplace of On-Demand Experts - GP Bullhound - November 5th, 2024 [November 5th, 2024]
- Top Affiliate Marketing Trends To Leverage This Year (2024) - Shopify - October 23rd, 2024 [October 23rd, 2024]
- Mobile Internet Marketing Market is Set to Experience a Revolutionary Growth | Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - openPR - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- IoT Internet Service Market Size and Industry Growth Analysis - News in Assen - October 12th, 2024 [October 12th, 2024]
- Below-the-Line Advertising: Definition and Use in Marketing - Investopedia - October 11th, 2024 [October 11th, 2024]
- Meet The 7 Most Popular Search Engines In The World - Search Engine Journal - October 11th, 2024 [October 11th, 2024]
- Agricultural Internet of Things Platform Market Business Insights, Key Trend Analysis - News in Assen - October 11th, 2024 [October 11th, 2024]
- New Trends of Internet Of Medical Things (IoMT) Market - openPR - October 11th, 2024 [October 11th, 2024]
- Teleoperation and Telerobotics in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Market Growth Factors & Key Statistics - News in Assen - October 3rd, 2024 [October 3rd, 2024]
- Is the word 'Google' losing its shine as search pivots? - Marketing Interactive - September 28th, 2024 [September 28th, 2024]
- My summer well spent: Studying digital marketing in the Czech Republic - Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University - September 21st, 2024 [September 21st, 2024]
- Why is the internet overflowing with rubbish ads and what can we do about it? - The Conversation Indonesia - September 21st, 2024 [September 21st, 2024]
- Juice Media Expands Mobile and Digital Marketing Capabilities Through Acquisitions of Mooko and MDG - PR Newswire - September 19th, 2024 [September 19th, 2024]
- In-flight Internet Market worth $2.1 Billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 5.7% - openPR - September 19th, 2024 [September 19th, 2024]
- AI and SEO: Shaping the Future of Content Optimization with Melih Oztalay - mitechnews.com - September 16th, 2024 [September 16th, 2024]
- Internet Advertising Market Valuation Set to Skyrocket to Reach US$ 6,088.57 Billion By 2032 | Cost Per Thousand Model to Remain at Top and Most... - September 14th, 2024 [September 14th, 2024]
- Why connectivity is key to the expanding in-car internet market - Vodafone - September 14th, 2024 [September 14th, 2024]
- Satellite Internet Market From USD 6.55 Billion in 2023 to USD - openPR - September 14th, 2024 [September 14th, 2024]
- Internet of Things in Automotive Market Set to Surge from USD128.09 Billion to USD 671.37 Billion by 2030" - openPR - September 12th, 2024 [September 12th, 2024]
- Cascade Web Solutions: Elevating Digital Presence for Local Businesses in the Pacific Northwest - openPR - September 12th, 2024 [September 12th, 2024]
- Unlocking Business Potential in India: The Power of Marketing in Indian Languages - Big News Network - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Global Satellite Internet Market Research Methodologies: Best Practices and Tools - Third Eye News - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- 23 Effective Ways To Make Money Online (2024) - Shopify - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- Your Guide to the Top Digital Marketing Agencies in New York for September 2024. - - VENTS Magazine - September 6th, 2024 [September 6th, 2024]
- The Best SEO Conferences For 2024-2025 (Virtual And In-Person) - Search Engine Journal - August 14th, 2024 [August 14th, 2024]
- Healthcare Digital Industry Growth Factors, Applications, and Forecast by (2024-2034) - - August 14th, 2024 [August 14th, 2024]
- Starlink innovates and forges partnerships, aims to dominate satellite internet market - DIGITIMES - July 15th, 2024 [July 15th, 2024]
- Healthcare Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Minimize Ad Spending Costs - AccessWire - July 15th, 2024 [July 15th, 2024]
- How AI is shaping the digital marketing landscape in 2024 - DM News - July 15th, 2024 [July 15th, 2024]
- Top 27 Sports Marketing Agencies Taking the Lead in 2024 - Influencer Marketing Hub - July 15th, 2024 [July 15th, 2024]
- In-flight Internet Market Set to Grow at the Fastest Rate- Time to Grow your Revenue - openPR - June 25th, 2024 [June 25th, 2024]
- Veteran Marketing Firm Screen Pilot Expands into the United Kingdom - Hotel News Resource - May 23rd, 2024 [May 23rd, 2024]
- Hilarious new TikTok advertising trend is peak Gen Z - Creative Bloq - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- Sports partnerships in the era of streaming services - Optimising Digital and Offline Marketing - Indiantelevision.com - May 1st, 2024 [May 1st, 2024]
- The AI Revolution: News and Tools for Business with Melih Oztalay - mitechnews.com - April 8th, 2024 [April 8th, 2024]
- Top 100 Digital Marketing Interview Questions and Answers for 2024 - Simplilearn - March 28th, 2024 [March 28th, 2024]
- Connecting the Dots: The Role of Affiliate Platforms in Modern Marketing - Luxury Lifestyle Magazine - March 28th, 2024 [March 28th, 2024]
- Digital Marketing Spending Market size is set to grow by USD 353.53 bn from 2024-2028,shift in consumer behavior ... - PR Newswire - March 28th, 2024 [March 28th, 2024]
- Top 15 Digital Marketing Software Tools To Try Out - Influencer Marketing Hub - March 20th, 2024 [March 20th, 2024]
- Google Assistant's evolution: Is this the new search? - Napa Valley Register - February 6th, 2024 [February 6th, 2024]
- Overcoming Entrepreneurial Fear: Essential Strategies for New Business Owners - December 28th, 2023 [December 28th, 2023]
- Who Is Ross Kernez, the Internet Marketing Expert? - OK! - November 9th, 2023 [November 9th, 2023]
- Athletic Brewing Company Partners with Viral Internet Granny to ... - PR Newswire - November 9th, 2023 [November 9th, 2023]
- The Current State of AI - Elmhurst College - November 9th, 2023 [November 9th, 2023]
- The Tech Stocks That Will Eventually Become the New Magnificent ... - InvestorPlace - November 9th, 2023 [November 9th, 2023]
- Wilkinsburg tries to demolish 'deplorable' buildings, avoid ... - TribLIVE - November 9th, 2023 [November 9th, 2023]
- Atlas 5 launches Amazon Kuiper satellites for tests of space-based ... - Spaceflight Now - October 11th, 2023 [October 11th, 2023]
- Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) Market Size to Surpass USD ... - GlobeNewswire - October 11th, 2023 [October 11th, 2023]
- Federal Judge Throws Out $32.5 Million Win For Sonos Against ... - Slashdot - October 11th, 2023 [October 11th, 2023]
- [New Report] Internet of Things in Retail Market Set to Surge ... - GlobeNewswire - September 7th, 2023 [September 7th, 2023]
- Global Consumer Internet of Things (IoT) Market Size to Reach USD ... - GlobeNewswire - September 7th, 2023 [September 7th, 2023]
- Team Internet Group looks to AI initiatives to drive digital marketing ... - Proactive Investors UK - September 7th, 2023 [September 7th, 2023]
- The global internet of medical thing market is expected to reach an ... - GlobeNewswire - September 7th, 2023 [September 7th, 2023]
- How SRK's Jawan is winning the brand integration 'jung' - Exchange4Media - September 7th, 2023 [September 7th, 2023]
- Reshaping biopharma marketing with point-of-care messaging - MM+M Online - September 7th, 2023 [September 7th, 2023]
- The Truth About Gigs, Gs and Other Internet Marketing Jargon - Forest Grove News times - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- Fall SCORE Webinars Can Help Keep Your Business Out Front - VISTA.Today - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]
- St International Holdings Company Limited Announces Executive ... - Marketscreener.com - August 28th, 2023 [August 28th, 2023]