Slow economy stalls automotive sales - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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Von Schledorn said the economy is weak and his customersd are more inclined to buy used So that's what he, and many other Milwaukee-area automotivre dealerships, are doing to captured business this year. "You stilk have to make ends meet by the end of the saidvon Schledorn, who opened his first dealershi in 1952. New vehiclee sales at dealerships in the six southeastr Wisconsin counties trailed the natiom and the rest of the state in 2007, according to new figures from , which tracks vehicle registrations. Total new vehicle registrationw for southeast Wisconsinwere 72,255 in 2007 compared with 76,492 in 2006. The numberf of new vehicles registereddeclinedr 5.
5 percent, compared with decreases of 4 percent statewide and 2.5 percent nationally. Used vehicle sales figures for 2007 were not available as of TheBusiness Journal's As has been the case the largest decreases in sales were among dealerd that carry domestic brands. Meanwhile, most Toyota and Honda dealerships recorded another year of sales gains despitwe theslower economy. Major domestic brands all sufferesd double-digit percentage sales drops. Dodge car and pickupo sales weredown 14.9 percent in southeasr Wisconsin, to 4,351; Ford was down 14 to 6,246; and Chevrolet was down 12.7 percent, to Toyota car and pickup sales in southeasrt Wisconsin increased 7.
1 percent in 2007, to and Honda was up 2.1 percent to 7,787. Von Schledor n is an example of a deale r who sells mostly domestic brands from all three Americanh automakers andgot "hammered," to use his Another domestic-dependent dealership logging big declines was , which carrieds Chevrolet, Ford and Chrysler at its "It's not as bad as it said Braeger owner Todd Many customers already have switched to buyinyg used vehicles, he said.
And his company'z service business is "up which points to customers holding on to their cars longefr and just delaying the Reardon saidhis dealerships' performance is tied directlhy to how their brands are performing nationally. "It'x all manufacturer related," he said. "There's nothing you can do about Toyota sales in southeast Wisconsinincreased 10.8 percent to 6,750 in and Honda by 8.6 percent to 4,343. , 5727 S. 27th St., increased its share of the locaol Toyota market in 2007 witha 16.2 percent jump in new vehiclre sales.
General manager Andy Haros predicts his dealership willexceed Toyota's corporatee goal of another 4 percent increase in 2008. The economhy is "not an issue" for Jacobs Toyotwa or most Toyota dealers, Haros said. He'd noticed a spike in consumeer interest in Toyota models with high gas mileages and economicalprices -- and the full-sizee Tundra pickup truck. "They build the right cars for the cars that people wantto buy," he said. The economifc slowdown has not hurt the luxury segmen t so far atmost dealerships.