The pandemic is taking a big bite out of automobile sales in Colorado this year, with consumers registering 16.7% fewer new vehicles in the first half of 2020 than they did in the first half of 2019, according to the latest Colorado Auto Outlook from the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.

That works out to 22,286 fewer vehicles registered in the first six months of 2020 than in the same period of 2019, with registrations of light trucks and SUVs down 12.5% and sedan registrations off a much larger 36.5%.

Dealerships struggled to sell cars and trucks in March and April due to restrictions on in-person visits and heavy job losses have kept many consumers from making large purchases, said Tim Jackson, president of CADA. Closures of Division of Motor Vehicle offices have also created a backlog when it comes to registering vehicles.

“I do think that the DMV offices being closed so long did delay some data. Maybe as much as two to four percent. I do not think any more than that. And even at that, we will capture those in July or soon after,” said Jackson.

Nationally, auto registrations are down about 20%, so Colorado is faring a little better than the overall average. Some of the brands with the biggest declines in Colorado this year are Fiat, down 57.4%; Chrysler, down 48.2%; Tesla, down 40.2%; and Mini, down 36.6%. Only Lincoln, RAM and Kia registrations are up this year.

The big drop in sales, however, doesn’t mean dealers are sitting on a glut of inventory, as happened during the last recession. The pandemic also shut down auto manufacturing lines for six to eight weeks, and that is now contributing to inventory shortages as consumer demand rebounds.

Jackson said dealers across Colorado are telling him they are nearly out of stock on their most popular models, especially pickups and SUVs.

“One dealer told me that while they would typically have 600 to 800 new units on the ground for sale at any given time, now they only have 60 to 80,” he said. That has resulted in customers buying vehicles off arriving delivery trucks or putting deposits on purchases days and weeks ahead of delivery.

“Our industry’s biggest challenge today is having enough cars and trucks to sell.  None of our stores do,” he said.

Colorado used vehicle registrations also dropped sharply in the first half of the year, according to the report. Buyers registered 98,140 used vehicles, defined as those seven years or younger, compared to 126,199 registered in the first half of 2019. That represents a 22.2% decline.

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