U.S. new light vehicle sales to rise about 1% in July, report says

(Reuters) – U.S. new light vehicle sales are expected to rise about 1% from a year earlier, after a crucial dealer software outage last month likely deferred sales to July, automotive data provider S&P Global Mobility said on Wednesday.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Car industry technology provider CDK was hit by a cyber attack last month, forcing the retail technology provider to shut down a critical software system used at more than 15,000 U.S. car dealerships in June, a major sales month in the industry.

The outage had forced some U.S. auto dealers to revert to manual paperwork affecting the operations of major auto companies such as AutoNation, Hyundai and Volkswagen.

BY THE NUMBERS

Light vehicle sales in the U.S. are expected to rise to about 1.32 million units in July, from 1.29 million units, a year ago.

The share of Battery Electric Vehicles is expected to reach 7.8% in July, aided by the rollouts of new models from car makers such as Honda, Volkswagen, Stellantis. KEY QUOTES

“As a result of delayed transactions from the June auto dealer cyber attacks, even with one less selling day than June 2024, auto sales volume in July is expected to essentially match the month-prior result,” said Chris Hopson, analyst at S&P Global Mobility

“Mixed signals regarding the outlook for the second half of the year remain entrenched though, as new vehicle affectability concerns remain prevalent, and inventories are not expected to advance as strongly as they have done over the past 12 months,” Hopson added.

(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)