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Total car, truck, and SUV sales for the Houston region came in just short of 25,000 last month. Sales were up 9% from December but down 7% from a year earlier.
Steve McDowell is president of Sugar Land-based InfoNation and publisher of TexAuto Facts.
“Primarily I believe it’s because of the difference in the weather. Last year, we didn’t really have any winter. This year, January had quite a few winter days, at least by Houston standards, and that did slow down the sales, at least for this time of the year.”
McDowell says the January numbers follow a remarkable year for vehicle sales.
“The total revenue from new and used vehicle sales from the local dealers in the Houston region crossed $16 billion last year, which meant a tax revenue of over $1 billion, which, of course, is very good for the dealers and very good for the state of Texas.”
The harsh January weather took a steep toll on nationwide sales. Vehicle retail sales across the country fell nearly 26% last month compared to December.
