Car and truck sales up significantly in February

DENVER – Sales of new cars and trucks in Colorado increased 26.8 percent in February compared to February 2010, according to figures released by the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association on Friday. Year-to-date new vehicle sales are up 17 percent over 2010.

This two-month surge translated to 9,383 new vehicles sold statewide through February compared to 7,400 new vehicles sold in the same period in 2010.

However, the most recent Colorado Auto Outlook Report showed sales of used cars – vehicles 7 years old or newer – were down 4.9 percent for the same period.

“The Colorado trend for new car sales is tracking in double digits with the same numbers nationally in spite of increasing gas prices,” Tim Jackson, president of CADA, said in releasing the report. “This is positive news for Colorado dealers leading into the annual Denver Auto Show, which is a good indicator of consumer interest and demand for new cars.”

Jackson added that Porsche, Saab, Jeep, Mini and Kia led the increase in new car registrations, up 50 percent during the first two months of 2011 over the same period last year.

The figures show that Japanese brands accounted for more than 46 percent of new cars and light trucks in Colorado this year, but that was before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan. Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Co. have announced plans to reduce exports to the United States, and Toyota Motor Co. is preparing for the possibility of suspending production in North America.

Honda, which had more than 10 percent of the North American auto market share in 2010, has suspended production in Japan until April 3. The disaster badly damaged its assembly plant in Tochigi Prefecture and auto parts suppliers in the Tohoku region. About 20 percent of Hondas sold in the United States are imported from Japan.

According to reports in the Japanese press, Honda is expected to reduce deliveries of certain models, including the subcompact Fit and the hybrid Insight, to U.S. dealerships in May.

The earthquake and tsunami did not directly affect Mazda’s head office nor its assembly plants, but the manufacturer has temporarily halted orders from U.S. dealerships as supplies of parts dwindle. Mazda sold about 230,000 vehicles in the United States in 2010, about 17.8 percent of its total sales. The company imports the highest proportion of cars produced in Japan among major automakers – about 70 percent – including all of  its popular Mazda 3 and CX-7 models.

Toyota has told employees at North American plants that the company may temporarily halt production in April when it is predicting it will run out of electronic parts. Toyota and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru brand vehicles, have suspended overtime and Saturday operations to avoid running out of parts too quickly.

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