Transportation
Drivers Are Buying New Cars to Replace Older Models, Even With Surging Prices
- Replacement demand offsets financing, pricing headwinds
- Industry officials, dealers worry about prolonged UAW strike
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US car buyers are headed to showrooms out of sheer necessity, defying high interest rates and fat sticker prices to replace cars that on average have been on the road for more than 12 years.
High monthly payments and the early effects of a widespread strike at US carmakers didn’t stop vehicle sales from rising in the third quarter. Dealers have larger inventories than they’ve had for several years, which could attract more buyers for the rest of the year as pent-up demand fuels sales.