90 Seconds with AFS - May 2023 U.S., Canada, Mexico Light Vehicle Sales

May ended with strong light vehicle sales in the U.S. approximately 3.5% better than expected. Improving on last May by 22.7%, the market was propelled by huge gains from Mazda and Honda with Subaru also beating the market average. All reporting brands, except for Lincoln, showed year-over-year gains with only Toyota not improving by double-digits. While the month performed very well, the sales forecast for 2023 remains unchanged as the growing anxiety over interest rates and the rising potential of labor strikes in the fall are tempering additional enthusiasm. Retail buyers are ceding more of the market to fleets, which are still working to replace their aging vehicles. Incentives for retail buyers are growing in an attempt to offset the rising loan rates. The target for 2023 sits at 14.77 million units in the U.S. Like in the U.S., sales in Canada were about 3% above expectations. Trucks continue to experience share growth and the market is not far from where fewer than one out of ten light vehicles sold in the country will be traditional passenger cars. Few brands report detailed sales numbers, however Honda, Kia, Hyundai, and Lexus showed improved deliveries in May. Light vehicle sales of 1.64 million units remains the expectation for 2023. Mexico continues to show strength, with April and May besting numbers reported in 2019. Continued strong numbers have pushed the AFS forecast up to 1.27 million for 2023. Imports from China are definitely making a splash in Mexico with May marking the third straight month with sales of over 20,000 units shipped from the growing automotive powerhouse and reaching 18.5% market share. Vehicles from China made up just 5.4% of the market two years ago.

For the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60YhOWDrZPA

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Joe McCabe: [email protected]

Sam Fiorani: [email protected]