Originally Posted by
user34615145
2016 North American auto sales went out with a bang soaring to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 18.4 million according to AutoData Corp., which is the highest monthly figure since the summer of 2005.
It was also the only time the SAAR breached above 18 million in 2016, after doing so the final four months of 2015.
The monthly total of 1.68 million units was above consensus estimates and pushed the final 2016 figure to 17.465 million units, 1% above the 17.396 million units sold in 2015.
However, that said, according to Ward's Auto, inventory levels are nearly 5% higher than a year ago.
All the major auto manufacturers reported sales were largely driven by higher incentives.
TrueCar estimates that December incentives were more than $3,600 per unit sold, or 11% of vehicle price, which is an increase of close to 20% versus December a year ago when it was only 9.1% of vehicle price.
So.....the Good News is that a ton of cars sold in December and we already know that about 75% of every new car sold is equipped with SatRad, so that should convert into some more good numbers for SIRI when they report quarterly results. However, inventories of unsold vehicles are up and sales incentives are at a level that cannot be sustained for too much longer, which begs the question; How long can this level of sales remain....or are we due for a bit of a breather?
Thoughts anyone?