Monthly Update: Vehicle Sales
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Houston-area dealers sold 356,504 new cars, trucks, and SUVs for the 12-month period ending in October ’24, according to TexAuto Facts, published by InfoNation, Inc. This represents a slight increase over the 349,718 vehicles sold during the comparable 12-month period ending in October ’23.
Truck and SUV sales, up by 2.7 percent over the 12-month period, drove growth while car sales, down 0.6 percent, were a slight drag. Trucks and SUVs now comprise 78.5 percent of new vehicle sales in the region versus 56.9 percent a decade ago, as consumer preferences have shifted, and domestic automakers have phased out many of their conventional sedans in favor of crossovers and SUVs. Year-to-date, vehicle sales are flat compared to ’23.
These year-to-date numbers, while flat, are still healthy since ‘23 included a large volume of sales that reflect supply rebounding from the microchip shortages of prior years and fulfilling pent-up demand. October, which this year only had four Sundays when dealerships are closed, was a real bright spot with 36,593 sales in ’24 compared to 30,101 in ’23, offsetting some of the softer sales this Spring.
One factor behind these strong sales is greater affordability, as interest rates have fallen, dealers provide generous incentive packages like financing deals with a sub-two percent annual interest rate and 60 months to pay, and average vehicle prices have dropped from $51,060 last October to $50,917.
Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research
Colin Baker
Manager of Economic Research
bakerc@houston.org
Patrick Jankowski, CERP
Chief Economist
Senior Vice President, Research
pjankowski@houston.org
