Early Buying Spree Cannibalizes Fourth Quarter Car Sales

AutoNation saw a year-over-year decline in vehicle sales during the fourth quarter due to a tough comparison to 2024 and a race to buy vehicles earlier in the year before the implementation of tariffs and expiration of electric vehicle tax credits, executives said Friday (Feb. 6).

The automotive retailer’s same-store new vehicles sales were down 10% year over year during the quarter, while its same-store used vehicle sales were down 5%, according to a presentation released Friday in conjunction with a fourth-quarter earnings call.

“Relative to the fourth quarter, the industry faced tougher sales comparisons to last year, when post-election sales surged, driving a Q4 2024 light vehicle SAAR [seasonally adjusted annual rate] of 16.7 million,” AutoNation CEO Mike Manley said during the call.

“Also, sales in this year’s fourth quarter were negatively impacted by the strong pull ahead earlier in the year, as consumers reacted to the tariff announcements and purchased vehicles prior to the expiration of government incentives for electric-related powertrains,” Manley added.

These trends affected sales of most vehicle brands, with the greatest impact being on premium luxury ones, Manley said.

For the full year, AutoNation’s sales of new vehicles grew 2%, which was largely in line with industrywide sales growth, Manley said. The company’s full-year sales of used vehicles rose 1%, according to the presentation.

Automotive retailer Group 1 Automotive reported in a Jan. 29 presentation that during the fourth quarter, its same-store new vehicle sales were down 4% year over year, and its same-store used vehicle sales were down 2%. The firm said both figures were equal to those seen in the U.S. market as a whole.

Asbury Automotive Group said in a Wednesday (Feb. 4) presentation that its fourth-quarter same-store new vehicle sales were down 6% and its same-store used vehicle sales were down 10%.

It was reported in September that there was an automotive sale boom ahead of the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credit. That $7,500 credit expired Sept. 30.

In June, it was reported that auto sales returned to a normal level in May after spiking for two months when consumers sought to make purchases before new tariffs set in.