Monthly Update: Vehicle Sales

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Houston-area auto dealers sold 302,951 cars, trucks, and SUVs through the first ten months of ’23, a 14.7 percent increase over the 264,140 sold during the comparable period in ‘22, according to TexAuto Facts, published by InfoNation, Inc. Sales have surpassed pre-COVID levels but remain short of the Fracking Boom peak.

Cars accounted for 21.9 percent of all vehicles sold in October, down from 22.4 percent in September. Trucks/SUVs share of the market grew from 77.6 to 78.1 percent of the market. 

Over the 12 months ending in October ’23, dealers sold a total of 349,718 vehicles. The 12-month record was set in October ’15, when dealers sold 377,705 vehicles. The 12-month nadir was January ’21 when dealers sold only 236,669 vehicles.

Cox Automotive reports that most foreign automakers benefited from improved inventory and showed sales growth in October. Honda and Toyota posted sales increases. Toyota’s inventory has been recovering quickly since the summer, allowing them to regain share from Honda and Nissan. Hyundai and Kia had positive sales growth for the 15th consecutive month.

Meanwhile, Cox reports, U.S. sales for the Detroit brands were down for the month, perhaps reflecting a small impact from the UAW strike. Beyond that, the UAW strike had little near-term impact on new-vehicle sales, as inventory levels remained mostly healthy throughout October. However, the market will have to wait and see what the longer-term impact of the strike looks like.
 

Prepared by Greater Houston Partnership Research 

Patrick Jankowski, CERP
Chief Economist
Senior Vice President, Research
pjankowski@houston.org

Leta Wauson
Research Director
lwauson@houston.org