U.S. Car Sales Accelerate 3% in March, Warning Signs Ahead?

Sales of U.S. auto rose 3% in March as compared to a yer ago, but some are questioning whether the pace can continue.

Analysts had expected March’s selling pace to be a bit higher, coming in at an adjusted annual rate of 16.57 million light vehicles, versus an anticipated rate of 17.5 million vehicles.

The issues are these, according to The Wall Street Journal: “Discount spending is on the rise and new evidence emerged in March that sales to fleet customers such as rental agencies in some key cases boosted new-car tallies.”  What’s more, WSJ noted that: “Car loans stretching 84 months or longer and the share of vehicles leased both increased, according to researcher J.D. Power.”

On the positive side of the ledger, prices at the pump are low, and interest rates are even lower.  Those trends augur well for continued sales performance.

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