Fleet Deliveries Slow

Fleet sales fell in November, according to Cox Automotive analysis of Bobit data.

Sales into large commercial, government and rental fleets fell 9% year-over-year to about 147,000, Cox said.

The decline came mostly in sales to commercial fleets, which fell by 22%, whereas government fleet sales actually rose 8% and rental fleet sales increased 1.2%.

The overall decline appeared to be spread among automakers and not concentrated with the big three Detroit manufacturers whose production was impacted by the autumn union strikes, as some Japanese automakers also saw smaller declines, Cox said.

Still, General Motors experienced the steepest fleet deliveries drop, while Nissan had the biggest gain.

When adding fleet sales to dealer and manufacturer supplies, Cox said retail sales rose an estimated 10% for an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of 13 million, up 9% year-over-year, though down from 13.4 million in October.

Cox said fleet market share fell year-over-year from 17% to about 15%.

DIG DEEPER: Fleet Sales Take a Hit From Strikes

Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today