Since peaking in 2016, auto sales in the U.S. have continued to decline, and their performance remains weak into 2019.


Right now, the global auto industry seems to be suffering from a cold winter. From India to the United Kingdom, from Mexico to Germany, there are frequent reports of layoffs by major car companies. What is the current state of the U.S. auto industry?


Major U.S. car companies frequently lay off employees The auto industry faces a restructuring


Chen Yijia: Since its peak in 2016, car sales in the United States have continued to decline, and the performance is still weak in 2019.


According to U.S. auto sales data from the first half of the year, the overall performance of U.S. auto sales this year is expected to drop below 17 million for the first time since 2014, while states like California that are running on wheels saw auto sales in the first half of the year. It has shrunk by 5.6%. An important reason behind the sluggish auto market is that new cars are too expensive for ordinary Americans to buy.


Robert Sinclair, Northeast Representative of the American Automobile Association: Now the average age of American cars has reached 11.8 years. These old car owners definitely need to buy a new car, but may not be able to do so for financial reasons.


Devin Sawaskan, an industrial analyst at a research firm in the United States: Interest rates have been rising for many years, leading to an increase in car loans, coupled with rising production costs of the car itself, rising prices of steel and aluminum, and new automotive technology. Significant increase, all make car prices rise.


In order to adapt to the changing market, many auto companies have begun to make adjustments. American manufacturers such as GM and Ford have discontinued a large number of models in the past two years, mainly small four-door cars, and more focused on the production of SUVs and light trucks. Those adjustments have been accompanied by a slew of layoffs, with the entire U.S. auto industry shedding jobs in the first four months of the year double the level of the same period last year.


Devin Sawaskan, an industrial analyst at a research firm in the United States: The auto industry is reorganizing again, and manufacturers are trying to adjust the cost of car manufacturing. Like electric cars, self-driving cars, that won't be profitable for five years.


U.S. car buying enthusiasm turns to second-hand cars, global auto industry may decline


Although new car sales in the United States are falling, it is not because Americans are driving less. For example, according to data from the United States Department of Transportation, the number of kilometers driven in the United States as a whole also increased by 2.5% year-on-year in April this year. In addition to the now longer average lifespan of cars, more Americans are keen to buy affordable used cars.


Devin Sawaskan, an industrial analyst at a research firm in the United States: We have seen that the turnover of used car dealers in the United States has increased by 3.7% in the past five years to $117.9 billion.


Chen Yijia: Except for the United States, the world's auto industry seems to have a hard time. The German Automotive Research Center predicts that global auto sales will decline by more than 4 million this year.