New, used car sales holding their own in Lucas County

Joan McVicker listens intently as Charlie's Dodge sales representative Carol Gerken leans in to explain some of the features of the Dodge Journey in Maumee. JETTA FRASER Enlarge

New and used vehicle sales in Lucas County are on track this year to at least match last year's sales levels even without the benefit of a "Cash for Clunkers" program, according to sales figures from the Lucas County Clerk of Courts.

However, in a shift of local buying habits, vehicles built by Ford Motor Co. replaced longtime Toledo favorite Chrysler Group LLC as the automaker with the most new-car auto sales in the area for the first half of this year, figures by separate auto dealers show.

Through the first six months this year, 9,393 new cars and trucks were registered in Lucas County, which is just under half of the 18,997 registered for all of 2009, Clerk of Courts Bernie Quilter said.

Registrations of used vehicles purchased from dealerships were down slightly for the first six months to 16,260 units sold this year, compared to 16,525 units during the same period last year. Registrations from private-party vehicle sales remained relatively flat at about 26,300.

Figures compiled by the Toledo Automobile Dealers Association show that Ford's three brands - Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury - sold a combined 2,441 vehicles in metro Toledo through

June 30 this year, capturing 19.7 percent of the local market.

Chrysler, which employs thousands of area residents in local plants and long has been the metro region's top-selling automaker, saw its Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler brands finishing second, selling 2,421 vehicles during the first half of the year, for a market share of 19.5 percent.

General Motors Co., which has plants in Toledo and Defiance, was third locally, selling 2,221 new vehicles of its GM, Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac brands, for a 17.9 percent market share.

Together, the three domestic automakers captured 57 percent of the local market, down from 61 percent in 2009.

A combination of newer, critically acclaimed products from Ford probably had more to do with the Michigan automaker grabbing the top spot locally than did resentment toward Chrysler or GM, each of which borrowed billions of dollars last year from the federal government. Ford took no bailout money.

During 2009, when both Chrysler and GM shut down while they went through bankruptcy, they retained the top two market positions locally at 22 percent and 19.6 percent. Ford was third at 18.8 percent.

Still, local Chrysler dealers said they are seeing increased traffic to their showrooms and increased sales this month as the automaker rolls out the first of what will be 16 new or updated cars, trucks, and SUVs through the end of 2010.

"We should do over 200 new Chrysler products this month for the first time in a long time," said John Yark, of the Yark Automotive Group. "The new Grand Cherokee is up, and pretty much everything else is doing well too. We're kind of counting that the market is going to continue to improve through the last half of the year."

Jim Mitchell, executive director of the Ohio Independent Auto Dealers Association, said, "I haven't had anybody complaining that their sales are off. Everyone I've talked to is kind of pleased with where sales are heading."

Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:

lvellequette@theblade.com

or 419-724-6091.