Sales growing for auto dealers, but overall numbers not good

By Alex Gary

BusinessRockford.com

New-car dealers struggled mightily to move cars in the first three months of 2009, according to the number of cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans registered after purchase.

The secretary of state’s office reported that 884 new vehicles were registered in March after sale in Boone, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties, a six-month high but nearly 40 percent below March 2008 levels. Used-car registrations, which had been holding steady, fell nearly 12 percent, showing that the lack of sales activity was felt on just about every lot.

For the first quarter, 2,325 new vehicles were registered, off 37 percent from the 3,710 in the first quarter of 2008.

March capped a calamitous fall for the U.S. economy, and the aftershocks were being felt this week with Chrysler’s announcement that it intends to eliminate 789 dealers — including one in Belvidere and two in Rockford — from its network, and General Motors plans to cut 1,100.

Car sales registrations are a good, if imperfect, barometer of auto sales. They measure the number of cars and trucks registered in a county after purchase, not where they were bought.

Reach Assistant Business Editor Alex Gary at agary@rrstar.com or 815-987-1339.