Economy-car sales gaining on LI
Hyundai vehicles are parked on a sales lot in Florida. (April 3, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Long Islanders bought more basic economy cars but fewer SUVs in February -- the apparent result of rising gasoline prices.
New vehicle registration figures from Michigan-based auto data provider R.L. Polk & Co. -- the latest available for the Long Island market -- show Nassau and Suffolk drivers registering almost 16 percent more basic economy cars in February than a year earlier, for a total of 2,133 cars. The category is one of the largest and includes models like the Honda Civic, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla.
New registrations of SUVs, a still-larger category on Long Island, fell by more than 9 percent to 5,995. "The SUV sales have reversed," said general manager Denis Dagger of Smithtown Toyota.
Gasoline prices locally have risen since Dec. 27 and as of Friday averaged $4.160, according to the AAA -- almost 62 cents a gallon more than in December and 17.1 cents more than a year earlier.
There were exceptions to the SUV trend, though; new Jeep registrations rose 19.4 percent in February from a year earlier, to 861.
When all the numbers were totaled, the Island's new-vehicle market was flat with a year earlier, at 15,714 new vehicles registered, Polk said. Nationally, sales -- excluding fleets -- rose by 8.5 percent in the month from a year earlier, according to market researchers J.D. Power and Associates. Polk's Long Island figures also exclude fleet vehicles.
At Babylon Honda in West Babylon, owner Gary Schimmerling was at a loss to explain the flat sales. "The weather was great," he said. "We just didn't get the floor traffic." Dagger thinks consumers were still worried about the economy early in the year. Business "reversed itself in March and came roaring in like a lion," he said.
The Polk numbers showed new Honda registrations for the Island in February at 2,299 -- down by less than 1 percent from a year earlier, though still leaving Honda the Island's favorite brand in February. Nissan was the second-best seller here in February, and its numbers were up by 11.2 percent from a year earlier, to 2,251 vehicles. Big increases in sales of the subcompact Versa and midsize Altima outweighed declines in sales of most SUVs, according to figures from Nissan's regional office.
Toyota's numbers sank by more than 10 percent, to 1,447 vehicles. Hyundai's registrations were up 13.7 percent to 1,173 vehicles. Among domestic makes, Ford was the biggest seller in February and the biggest gainer -- up 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 1,020 vehicles.
