New cars flying off lots

County, state see double-digit gains

By Dean Calbreath, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.

In the latest signal that the local economy is rebounding, new-car sales in California and San Diego County jumped by double-digit percentages during the first three months of the year, possibly signaling an end to the auto industry’s five-year decline.

Between January and March, California dealers sold 280,148 new automobiles, a 19.8 percent increase over the same period of the previous year, according to the California New Car Dealers Association. In San Diego County, sales rose by 17.6 percent, from 16,572 in the first quarter of 2009 to 19,466 during the same period of this year.

Based on the increase in sales over the past six months, the dealers association projects that the state will sell 1.12 million cars by the end of this year, a 13.6 percent increase over last year’s sales of 1.04 million.

“Pent-up demand and manufacturer incentives have returned new-car buyers to the market,â€