A strong demand for new vehicles and an improving economy lifted the auto industry to its best performance in five years in 2012.
Nationwide, sales of new passenger cars rose 18.8 percent while sales of light trucks increased 8.3 percent in 2012 over 2011, according to Motorintelligence.com, which provides automotive data and analysis.
Some local dealers say auto sales have reached the highest level since the recession. The rise in sales comes more than three years after the federal government's $62 billion auto industry bailout.
"We set several new vehicle retail sales records in the last six months," said Rick Osick, president of MotorWorld, the region's largest vehicle dealership which sells 14 vehicle brands on 77 acres in Plains Twp. and Wilkes-Barre.
"I think the economy has improved modestly but what may be a bigger factor is the age of vehicles on the road these days. People put off purchasing and replacing vehicles for a couple years now and now there is pent up demand," he added. "The fleet in the country right now is probably the oldest it has ever been. They're machines. They wear out."
Mr. Osick said he has seen vehicle sales increase across the board, with a marked uptick in sales of Japanese-brand vehicles as the industry recovered after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Now, the inventory is back to normal, he said.
Sales of Kia vehicles increased more than 15 percent in 2012 at Ertley Kia in Moosic and would have increased more if additional vehicles were available to sell, said general manager Fred Straus. Banks also are more aggressive in lending now and interest rates are low, he said.
Greg Martin, general manager at Coccia Ford in Plains Twp., said the average age of vehicles on the road today is 11 years. He and Mr. Straus concurred that more people are buying new vehicles when faced with the decision of whether or not to put more money into repairs.
Sales at Coccia Ford are up more than 10 percent since last year, Mr. Martin said. New Ford vehicles that get better gas mileage are attracting more buyers, he said.
"We sold over 1,000 new Fords for the first time since 1999," Mr. Martin said. "For us, it was a banner year."
Sales at Ken Pollock Nissan in Wilkes-Barre Twp. mirror national trends. The dealership sold nearly 10 percent more vehicles in 2012 than 2011, said Gary Peters, general manager. He said sales have increased each year since Pollock purchased Fred Schuler's Automobile City in 2006 and opened a dealership on Mundy Street.
"Even with all the lows, sales have increased for us over the last seven years and this year was the best out of all of them," Mr. Peters said. "For us, 2012 was a great year and we're looking forward to a great 2013."
Contact the writer: dallabaugh@ citizensvoice. com