New vehicle registrations plunged in 2008 in county

Dramatic fluctuations in gas prices, eroding consumer confidence and more difficult financing combined last year to trigger the biggest decline in new vehicle registrations in El Paso County since 1980.

Registrations issued by the El Paso County Clerk & Recorder's Office last year fell 18.09 percent from a year earlier to 19,258, the fewest for any year since 16,492 new vehicles were registered in the county 17 years ago. The decline in 2008 total marked the biggest percentage drop since a 19.57-percent decline in 1980.

"It was a very difficult year in 2008. We did all right with what we had to work with and hope for a better year in 2009," said Dave Solon, owner of Dave Solon Kia in northern Colorado Springs as well as Kia, Mazda, Nissan and Subaru dealerships in Denver, Grand Junction, Longmont and Pueblo. "We made adjustments in our expenses and advertising. We did everything we could to accept reality and cut our expenses."

The county's automotive industry mirrored national trends. U.S. new car sales last year fell 18 percent to 13.2 million, the lowest level since 1992, according to Autodata Corp., a New Jersey-based company. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler saw their nationwide market share last year fall below 50 percent for the first time.

"This is another sign of a weakening local economy. It also reflects an inability to get car loans, uncertain gasoline prices, rising unemployment and a lack of young military personnel, who are a big part of the market," said Fred Crowley, senior economist for the Southern Colorado Economic Forum. "I don't see this getting much better."

The county's new vehicle registration totals have been down in three of the past four years and six of the past eight years.

More than 60 percent of the new vehicles registered in the county last year were imports, with Toyota, Honda and Nissan capturing three of the top four spots among the 43 makes listed by the Clerk & Recorder's Office. In a year when gas prices hit more than $4 a gallon, BMW's Mini Cooper Division and Mercedes-Benz posted the only increases, while the low-mileage Hummer line of sport utility vehicles posted the biggest decline.

Solon said he and other local dealers were constantly changing the mix of vehicles on their lots as gasoline prices surged to record levels in the first half of the year, then declined to a five-year low.

Dealers were hurt by a recession that resulted in registrations in the final three months of the year falling by nearly a third from a year earlier.

"People who didn't have to buy a big-ticket item in the fourth quarter postponed their purchase," Solon said. "But sales have been much stronger in the first few days of this year than the previous 90 days."