New cars and truck sales are showing signs of recovery in the Portland area, helping generate billions of dollars of economic activity and supporting thousands of jobs each year.
New cars and truck sales are showing signs of recovery in the Portland area, helping generate billions of dollars of economic activity and supporting thousands of jobs each year.
2010 saw the first national vehicle sales increase in five years.
“Even though future economic signs are pointing up, the recovery is not happening as rapidly everywhere as it seems to be in the auto industry,” says Ed Tonkin, vice president of Portland-based Ron Tonkin Family Dealerships and current chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association. Tonkin’s company sold approximately $500 million worth of vehicles and employed about 750 people last year.
The latest figures show that, nationally, new vehicle sales increased 11 percent in December, pushing the total number of new cars sold to above 12 million for 2010. Virtually all manufacturers saw increases. Some analysts are predicting sales will total 13 million this year, well below record levels, but up from the depths of the recession.
The numbers also are growing in Oregon. The most recent figures released by the Oregon New Car Dealers Association show sales increased 7.3 percent through November, the most recent month for which figures are available.
Read more at the Portland Tribune.
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