Southfield (WWJ) -- There are projections that car and truck sales will fall even more before they start to rise.
Analysts at Global Insight Tuesday downgraded their sales forecast for this year to 13.6 million vehicles. And George Magliano, Director, Automotive Industry Research, North America, predicts sales will drop to 13.4 million in 2009.
Speaking on a webcast, Magliano said sales in some months next year will be even worse than the terrible sales last month. September was the worst sales month in fifteen years.
One issue is credit. Potential buyers with bad ratings can't get it, those with good credit aren't interested--despite great deals from the companies
"They are getting very agressive in order to, number one, get the prime buyer to buy but its not working and that's an issue of falling consumer confidence," Magliano said.
Magliano says only those with the best ratings are getting credit, but some would be buyers have lost money in the stock market.
Things are expected to pick upslightly in 2010, but not reach normal levels until 2020.
Other findings in the Global Auto Markets in a Credit-crunched World report show:
• The credit crisis has really hurt the economy and consumer confidence
• The economy will be particularly brutal on the auto market next year
• Falling crude oil prices have become a plus factor
• High gasoline prices drove people out of the showrooms but some sanity has returned
• The auto market has its own credit problems which has really taken a bite out of auto sales in recent months
• Leasing has been hit hard by falling residual values
• Truck inventories are onerous
• Sales this year fall to 13.6 mm units and to 13.4 mm next year
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