Following more than two years of pandemic disruptions, the automotive sector has faced supply chain hindrances due to Chinese lockdowns and the Russia-Ukraine war. In addition, the Fed’s interest rate hikes to tame the stubbornly high inflation had a cascading effect on the auto industry. This has resulted in many Americans not planning car purchases this year.
However, with retail sales growth of 3% in January, the auto sector performed better than the overall market as sales, excluding motor vehicles and parts, increased by 2.3%, while sales of motor vehicles and parts increased by 5.9%.
