A Hyundai Sonata is seen outside of a Hyundai car dealership(Photo: Nam Y. Huh AP)
Super sales last month are expected to make up for sales losses due to Superstorm Sandy.
Analysts
handicapping auto sales say that when sales are done being reported
today, they will show that the industry remains on track for another
strong recovery year.
A lot of buyers who postponed buying a new
car due to the storm that devastated parts of coastal New York and New
Jersey returned to showrooms last month to buy. More could be coming
this month.
The industry was on track to sell 14.9 to 15.1 million
for the year if results from last month held up over the full year, a
pace that's up about 10.9% over last year, Jeffries predicts.
Jefferies
says 100,000 of them are from sales deferred due to the storm and that
because things slowed a bit earlier this year, 2012 will finish with
about 14.4 million vehicles sold, a healthy increase over last year.
Kelley
Blue Book forecasts a 14.7-million seasonally-adjusted sales rate for
in November, slightly outpacing the previous month when the storm hit.
"Kelley
Blue Book anticipates buyers that were forced to delay a purchase due
to the onset of the storm will continue to return to market during the
next several weeks," said Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst of
automotive insights for Kelley Blue Book.
USA Today