Here in Australia new car sales are down but then that’s only to be expected. Financial times are tough and people tend to put off major purchases at times like this. Even if they want to buy a new car credit is harder to come by and no one really knows where interest rates are going.
But will things get as tough as they are in the United States? Here in Australia new car sales are down 3.1% compared to this time last year. Over there one in five new car dealerships could close. One of the biggest dealerships in the country … a company with revenues last year that were measured in the billions has filed for bankruptcy protection. Companies are laying off staff as fast as they can.
Every major car maker in the US market posted a decline in sales in September as sales dropped by a whopping 26%. And finally Toyota … the leading seller of cars in America (and Australia) has finally had to offer zero interest on loans as an encouragement to get people to buy their cars.
While I doubt that we’ll ever see zero interest rates here in Australia you can be sure that things are going to get worse here in Australia and before long the sales of new cars will fall below last year’s figures. When that happens you can expect to see some nice incentives offered to encourage you to buy a new car.