Analysis
June 17, 2022
US Light Vehicle Sales Down 11.2% in May
Written by David Schollaert
US light vehicle sales fell to 1.11 million units in May, down 11.2% from 1.25 million units in April. LV sales in the US shrank by 29.2% year-on-year (YoY). The annualized selling rate fell to 12.68 million units last month from 14.50 million units in April, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported.
The annual comparison was hurt by two fewer selling days than in May 2021, and a high base effect. That said, it was still a poor result, as Memorial Day sales failed to provide a boost to the market. Though headwinds include higher interest rates, low incentives, and higher starting prices, what’s holding sales back is supply rather than demand. The tumble in domestic sales in May was again driven by extremely tight inventories.
