Car sales drop in November
Sales and new cars and trucks in Chattanooga fell last month to the lowest monthly level since the pandemic shut down most car dealers in April 2020.
A total of 878 new cars and trucks were titled last month in Hamilton County, or 9.7% below the same month a year ago, according to the Hamilton County Clerk’s Office.
Nationwide, Cox Automotive reported that last’s sales month pace of approximately 13 million was “significantly lower” than November 2020’s pace of 15.9 million sales due to computer chip shortages reducing the production of many new models. Computer chip shortages and other supply problems limited production and sales of new vehicles in November.
Ford Motor Co. claimed it was the best-selling automaker in the U.S. for the third consecutive month in November, a streak it hasn’t achieved since 1974, as it reported a 5.9% year-over-year sales boost for the month. Ford sold 158,793 vehicles in the U.S. last month, with gains across its key segments. Truck sales were up 4.6%, SUV sales grew 20.8% and sales of Ford’s burgeoning lineup of all-electric and hybrid vehicles increased 153.6% over last November.