US Auto Sales Down 8% in Q3 2023 vs. Q3 2019

The US auto industry is bouncing back compared to the past couple of years, but it’s still significantly below its pre-COVID days. Sales in the 3rd quarter of 2023 were 16% higher than sales in the 3rd quarter of 2022 and the 3rd quarter of 2021. However, they were only 1% higher than Q3 2020 sales and they were 8% below Q3 2019 sales. The question is: do the challenges of higher interest rates, depressed post-pandemic economic conditions, and supply chain challenges continue to keep sales down, or has the industry just shifted away from such high levels of auto purchasing and 2019 was from a peak sales period we won’t see again?…