U.S. new vehicle sales is expected to fall in April, as low inventories and rising interest rates boost prices amid high demand, consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said.
U.S. retail sales of new vehicles in April could fall 23.8 percent to 1.1 million units from a year earlier, according to a report released by the consultants on Wednesday.
Demand remains strong, but with fewer than 900,000 units in inventory at dealerships, sales volumes will be well below year-ago levels, said Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Powers.
The automotive sector has been hit hard by supply issues, with production being hampered for more than a year by a global shortage of electronic components and supply bottlenecks due to COVID-19 lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine.
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