Ask Fred Aylsworth, general sales manager at Turnpike Ford in Huntington, what type of vehicle customers are looking for these days, and he can answer the question with only two words.”Gas savers,” he said.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in West Virginia was $4.04 June 9, or nearly $1 a gallon higher than it was at the same time last year, according to American Automobile Association. Drivers with diesel-powered vehicles took an even larger hit at the pumps, with the price of diesel having risen $1.87 a gallon during the same time period.
Given the rocketing price of fuel, it is no surprise that many people are looking for vehicles that can get better gas mileage. But at the same time, West Virginia has long been truck country, with gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs enjoying strong sales in the state.
It appears that rising gas prices may be changing that trend, although the figures on new vehicle registrations provided by the West Virginia Automobile and Truck Association don’t point to any firm conclusions. Sales of trucks for March, April and May of 2008 are lower than they were at the same time last year. However, sales of SUVs are more or less the same.
How those changing shopping habits are playing at local dealers depends on the dealer. Ford, for example, currently only builds one type of hybrid vehicle, the Escape Hybrid, which is an SUV. Aylsworth said two of his most popular vehicles right now are the Ford Focus and four-cylinder version of the Ford Fusion, both of which get high gas mileage.
At the same time, many people are trying to trade in their trucks and other large vehicles but are not getting the prices they may have once received.
“Unfortunately, the market is being hit on that as well,” he said. “They don’t have the value they used to.”
A total of 1,330 trucks were newly registered in the state in May 2008, which is nearly 400 fewer trucks than were registered in May of the previous year.
Truck sales have been on the decline since 2001, when there were more than 24,000 trucks newly registered in the state. That number dropped to around 19.400 by 2007. At the same time, sales of cars and SUVs have remained relatively stable.
Declining truck sales not just in West Virginia but across the nation have taken their toll. Recently, GM announced it was closing four North American plants, including one in Ohio, to shift from manufacturing trucks and SUVs to smaller-sized cars.
Small automobiles seem to be what is selling right now, said Brown Gardner, general manager of the General Sales Truck Corp. of South Charleston. His company sells largely to commercial clients, and while sales are still good, the company has seen some clients express interest in gas engines as opposed to diesel engines, given gas is currently cheaper than diesel.
Smaller cars may be what are selling, but that doesn’t mean large vehicles have gone out of style. Sam Spurlock, general manager of Bill Spurlock Dodge of Huntington, said Dodge Grand Caravans, which are minivans, continue to be his dealership’s “bread and butter.”
He also doesn’t see high gas prices as too much of a deterrent for people with the money to pay for a new truck.
“If you are going to spend $35,000 to $40,000 on a vehicle, you’re going to be able to afford $4 a gallon (gas),” he said.
West Virginia has traditionally sold more trucks and SUVs than average because of the state’s mountainous terrain and its variable climate, said Ruth Lemmon, president of the West Virginia Automobile and Truck Association. And families in particular want large-sized vehicles they feel safe in.
Truck sales may be declining, but Lemmon said the state’s auto dealer industry is adjusting to the changes.
“It’s not as doom and gloom as a lot of people would have you believe,” she said. “We just keep plugging away.”
