Houston’s chips are still down for new auto sales
New vehicle sales in Houston continued their decline as the global microchip shortage curbs manufacturing and limits supplies.
New vehicle sales in the region fell 4 percent to 18,797 units last month from 19,479 units in November 2020, when the pre-vaccination economy depressed auto sales, according to the latest TexAuto Facts Report published by Houston-based data company InfoNation. Month-over-month, retail sales in the region rose 3 percent from 18,173 units in October.
The year-over-year declines in November weren’t as stark as they were in October, when new vehicle sales in the region fell 13 percent from 2020 and 36 percent from pre-pandemic levels. It may be a sign auto shoppers in Houston are growing used to preordering new vehicles and waiting for them, said Ted Gibson, InfoNation’s vice president and coowner.
Sales in the region started sliding over the summer as dealership lots in Houston grew more sparse. “High-end dealers — they hardly have any inventory on their lots,” said Gibson.
The combination of tight supplies and strong demand also has new vehicle prices shattering records. The average sales price for a new vehicle in the region jumped 16 percent to $48,984 in November from $41,994 a year earlier.
Shortages of new vehicles are driving up prices of used vehicles as consumers turn to used models that are more readily available. The average used car price in Houston jumped $7,391 (30 percent) from last year, according to a September study of the Houston market by auto research firm
iSeeCars.
The spike was higher in Houston than it was nationally, where prices jumped $6,454 (26 percent) compared to last year.
Even as new vehicle sales have slid in recent months in Houston, they are still on pace to beat sales in 2020, when lockdowns and economic uncertainty depressed demand and paralyzed the auto industry for several months, Gibson said.
“There’s no doubt we’re going to beat the numbers for last year,” he said, “for the obvious reasons.”