Monthly update: vehicle sales

The Greater Houston Partnership has issued the following press release: 

Houston-area auto dealers sold 21,652 new vehicles in September ’21, a decrease of 4.4 percent from September ’20, according to TexAuto Facts, published by InfoNation, Inc. of Houston. Truck/SUV sales decreased 2.8 percent since September ’20 and car sales are down 9.0 percent.  

The average price paid for a new vehicle was $46,125 in September ’21, up 13.3 percent from $40,703 in September ’20. The truck/SUV segment—accounting for 75.9 percent of new vehicles sold during September—had an average sales price of $48,881, up 12.4 percent from $43,502 one year ago. The average price for a new car also increased, from $31,806 in September ’20 to $37,144 in September ’21.

Vehicle sales started to decline in early ’19 as the energy and construction industries began to shed jobs. Beginning in early ’20, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact the economy, many consumers postponed major purchases out of concern for losing their jobs. As the economy began to recover, those consumers were more comfortable spending savings accumulated during the pandemic, leading to record sales in spring and early summer of ’21. An ongoing global shortage of computer chips has slowed vehicle production. As the supply of new vehicles decreases, average prices of new autos continued to climb.