REUTERS: Collapsing demand from rental car companies, corporations and government agencies has sapped U.S. auto sales during the coronavirus pandemic and a recovery will likely be slow, threatening auto workers whose jobs depend on fleet sales.
"If we don't see a rebound in 2021, this will be a problem for automakers," said Zohaib Rahim, economic and industry insights manager at Cox Automotive."But right now they're using all their production to supply dealers." U.S. fleet sales are dominated by GM, Ford Motor Co , Nissan and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and accounted for 16.4per cent of new vehicle sales in 2019.In 2019, fleet sales accounted for nearly 22per cent of GM's sales, with about half going to rental fleets and the other half to corporations and government agencies. Fleet sales accounted for nearly 28per cent of Nissan's 2019 sales, with almost 93per cent of those sales going to rental car companies.
However, after a historic decline in oil prices, Ruppert said it"could be some time in 2021" before industry-wide vehicle orders from oil and gas producers recover. Ruppert said government orders are based on the previous year's tax base, so 2021 orders will reflect this year's pandemic.