Regional car sales have been a mixed bag this year. Some local dealerships report a drop in sales after a record 2015, while others have seen a continued increase. But they agree December has been a good month for car sales.

The Associated Press reports General Motors, Toyota, Ford Motor Co., Nissan and Hyundai have seen varying levels of improvement upon last year’s sales. Fiat Chrysler saw a decline this year except on Ram vehicles, which had a 12 percent increase in sales.

Jason Todt, general manager at Morlan Chrysler, said 2016 has treated his dealerships well, despite a 10 percent drop in sales.

“That was to be expected,” Todt said. “Election years are typically that way.”

“I think a lot of people are just glad the election’s over,” said Bob Neff, dealer and general manager of Ford Groves. “And they feel more comfortable making decisions that involve a considerable amount of money.”

Neff said car sales at his dealership have done well throughout the year and across the board.

But in the weeks leading up to the election, he said, things changed.

“You could just sense that people were a little timid and feeling apprehensive,” he said.

Chris Brown, general manager at Cape Girardeau Honda, said he also noticed a slowdown in early November and had anticipated it. But the election wasn’t the main culprit.

“In this market, typically the first part of November is slow because of deer season,” Brown said.

The addition of election jitters, he said, made it a “double whammy.”

But with votes counted and the holidays descending upon the region, things are looking up on the car lots, despite a slow but steady increase in gas prices.

In Missouri, the average is $2.06 per gallon, the highest since October, according to AAA.

The rising cost of fuel doesn’t affect whether people buy cars, but rather, what type of cars they buy, Neff said.

If prices go up and stay up, dealers stock their stores accordingly, as fuel economy becomes a priority for their customers.

And used-car lots see more gas-intensive cars fill the empty spots as they’re traded in.

Dealers report a pickup in December sales as small businesses make last-minute purchases for tax purposes.

“A lot of businesses need to spend a little money before the end of the year to help lessen their tax burden,” Todt said, “so we’ve seen an increase from small businesses.”

Brown, too, said his dealership gets a boost from people making end-of-the-year-tax purchases.

But while December in general is a good month, it’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s that people make the most purchases.

Brown said that’s when dealerships offer the biggest incentives on current-year vehicles while still carrying a respectable number of those models. And with shoppers motivated by the desire to take last-minute advantage of tax deductions, the last week of December is, he said, a “sweet spot.”

“It’s a good week to look,” Neff said.

As may be expected, car sales are boosted by the holidays themselves.

Neff said his store has had several requests for Christmas-morning delivery of cars.

“That’s one of the most fun things to do — to deliver a car on Christmas morning with a bow on it,” Neff said. “Sometimes we’ll stand around the corner and watch.”

bbrown@semissourian.com

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