Affordability Crisis Weigh on Automobile Sector

Vehicle sales started to slow at the end of last year as "sticker shock" has been taking its toll on would-be U.S. consumers, according to Bloomberg.  Potential buyers are now "balking" at the idea of 10% interest rates on car loans, the report says. The average price of a vehicle now sits at about $48,000 and sales fell to an SAAR of 15.4 million vehicles for the last month of 2023, the report says. This number is down from 15.5 million the previous two quarters. Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for researcher Cox Automotive told Bloomberg:…