U.S. auto sales picked up steam halfway through March and ended strong with an increase of 6%. That may not seem like huge growth. But after a 3% decline in January and a flat result in February, any sign of momentum is a good one for the industry.
Coming after many months of strong growth, the sluggish results earlier this year raised a troubling question in many investors’ minds: Was it just the weather keeping buyers away from car dealers, or was the economic tide starting to turn for the worse?
Several automakers made a point of saying on Tuesday that the pace of sales improved significantly in late March — a sign that maybe it really was “just the weather.” With summer around the corner, we hope to see sales continue to accelerate.