‘Hangover’ setting in for automakers with sales poised to go lower

Car sales were in a recent rupture, but a new report expected that “waste” will soon come to this industry.

Car manufacturers such as Ford (Ford), Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), Hyundai (HYMTF) and KIA (000270.KS) have reported sales gains in May in May, when buyers took price and “pre -tendency” that reached the American slogan before president Trump by 25 % of two lecturers. Automatic.

But the gains of May were not anywhere near those in March and April. Wards Intelligence reported that the annual average rate (Saar) for light vehicle sales in May decreased to 15.65 million units from 17.25 million units in April and 17.83 million in March. COX Automotive also witnessed a similar decrease in the Saar account.

He wrote “Vehicle sales waste” and the chief American economy in Oxford Ryan Sweet in a note to the customer this week.

“It is unlikely that the opposite winds of vehicle sales will change quickly while consumers remaining pessimistic, and the inventory decreases on many agents, and there may be additional recovery of customs tariff increases,” Sweet wrote.

In addition to a decrease in stock that leads to high prices as merchants replaced by high -price cars, consumer morale will also weigh sales.

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“Although feelings generally explain a little fluctuation in real consumer spending, especially in the short term, confidence is more important to certain slices of spending on consumer,” I noticed Sweet. As our previous work showed, shocks feelings affect heavy losses [on] The consumption of durable goods, which include large ticket elements that usually require financing and are often the first areas of consumer consumers. “

“The effect of the peak definitions on inflation that occurs this summer.”

Sweet adds that decreased inventory, high prices, depression, and weak income growth will affect car sales. The Oxford team predicts weak sales throughout the year and comes out in the first quarter of 2026.

Edmunds Head of Insights Jessica Caldwell also confirms that the front loading has already happened. In a recent survey of Edmunds, 37 % of the respondents said they intend to buy a car urgently in response to tariff tariffs, while 11 % said they had already bought a car before entering customs duties.

There is one bright point for auto industries: 25 % of the respondents said that they delay the purchase in response to the definitions, and this means whether there is a decision with the automotive sector tariffs, some purchase may come to avenge many agents.