Car Dealers Report Strong February Sales

LACONIA — Despite the cold and snow three of the largest car dealerships in the Lakes Region enjoyed strong sales in February, which they take to signal even more brisk business with the coming of spring.

Autodata Corporation reported that nationwide sales were flat as the 1.2 million vehicles sold last month matched the volume during the same period a year ago. But, AutoServ of Tilton recorded 326 sales in February, the most for the month in its 25 years in business, while the Irwin Automotive Group posted 90 sales, 35-percent more than in 2013, and Cantin Chevrolet reported "robust sales."

"There is certainly something going on in central New Hampshire," said Dennis Gaudet of AutoServ. "We're bucking the trend."

Gaudet, along with Chris Irwin of Irwin's and Don Deprospo of Cantin's, all said that low interest rates, stable fuel prices and a recovering economy underlay a rebounding market for vehicles, in which manufacturers are competing aggressively for market share.

Irwin stressed that car makers are offering attractive incentives, including 0 percent financing for extended terms and generous leasing programs. "We're seeing the highest incentives in a long time," said Deprospo. "There is an underlying rebate war going on," Gaudet agreed.

All three dealers emphasized the role of pent-up demand in spurring the market.

When the economy slumped in 2008-2009, car sales plummeted as cautious owners kept their existing vehicles. Irwin noted that the average age of vehicles on the road has reached 11.2 years, as high as it has ever been. He said that the trend began to reverse itself last year when new care sales touched 15 million. "We expect this pent-up demand to buoy the market for new vehicles this year and next," he said.

Gaudet said that the recession not only slowed, but also changed shopping for vehicles. McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm, found that instead of traipsing from one dealership to another, consumers do their comparison shopping on-line. The average buyer now visits 1.6 dealerships compared to five just a decade ago, a change Hans-Werner Kaas, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company calls the most dramatic in buying habits to affect the industry in 50 years. Gaudet believes that this trend provides dealerships, like AutoServ and Irwin's, offering multiple brands at one location a competitive edge.

Gaudet, Irwin and DeProspo were all confident that the factors that combined to boost sales in February would persist into the spring and would be enhanced by a break in the weather, which they conceded has been challenging for all retail businesses through what has proved a long winter.