Rental fleets had been down 16.2% year-over-year in December 2024 at 92,386 automobiles in comparison with 110,198 automobiles offered in December 2023.
Whole U.S. fleet car gross sales eased down by 2.5% in 2024 as OEMs look like assembly the demand of fleet operations which have restored fleet sizes for the reason that pandemic that constricted provide, in line with Bobit/Automotive Fleet gross sales knowledge launched Jan. 6.
Rental and authorities fleet automobiles confirmed slight positive factors for 2024, which wasn’t sufficient to offset the bigger decline in industrial fleet automobiles offered.
Rental fleet automobiles comprised virtually half of all fleet car gross sales in 2024.
Amongst all industrial, rental, and authorities sector fleets, whole gross sales for the 12 months reached 2,125,441 automobiles, in comparison with 2,179,751 automobiles in 2024 and 1,698,656 in 2022. That represents a 2.5% lower over 2023 and a 20% lower over 2022.
Broke down by fleet sector, 2023 gross sales figures present:
- Business gross sales totaled 814,391, down 8.3% from 888,123 in 2023.
- Rental fleet gross sales reached 1,036,830 up a slight 1.7% from 1,019,225 in 2023. Rental automobiles took 49% of the whole fleet car gross sales final 12 months.
- Authorities gross sales got here in at 274,220 automobiles, up 0.7% from 272,403 in 2023.
Fleet Gross sales Finish 12 months With a Double-Digit Dip
Among the many three fleet sectors, December 2024 gross sales ended the 12 months down 11.6%, at 178,395, in comparison with 201,808 in December 2023.
Month-to-month gross sales figures damaged down by fleet sector embody:
- Business fleet gross sales had been 64,978 automobiles final month in comparison with 69,647 in December 2023, a decline of 6.7%.
- Rental fleets had been down 16.2% year-over-year in December 2024 at 92,386 automobiles in comparison with 110,198 automobiles offered in December 2023.
- Authorities fleet gross sales final month had been 21,031 automobiles, down 4.2% from 21,963 in December 2023. [Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota did not report any monthly fleet sales].
“For the complete 12 months, total fleet gross sales declined in opposition to 2023, however the tempo of fleet gross sales various over the 12 months, very like the broader market total,” mentioned Jeremy Robb, senior director of financial and trade insights for Cox Automotive, in a Jan. 6 e-mail. “Business fleet prospects could have fulfilled most of their pent-up demand final 12 months in 2023 and pulled again as the costs of recent automobiles remained excessive over the course of the 12 months (and even rose over the fourth quarter). Rental prospects confirmed extra demand earlier within the 12 months as they rebuilt their total fleet from the pandemic earlier than backing off within the second half of 2024.”
One issue contributing to the flatter fleet gross sales was the OEMs producing and promoting extra high-end luxurious automobiles to customers than earlier than, Robb mentioned, which aren’t the identical forms of automobiles sought by fleet operations.
Bobit Enterprise Media (BBM), proprietor of Automotive Fleet, Automobile Remarketing, Authorities Fleet, and Auto Rental Information, compiles fleet gross sales numbers that mirror combination figures from the three main Detroit-based auto producers and the Asian Huge 6 automakers.
