THE coronavirus pandemic is ending yet another annual holiday tradition for shoppers in 2020: Black Friday deals on new cars.
Instead of offering the steep discounts to clear out older inventory, many automakers are having a hard time resupplying dealer lots with enough inventory after shutting down factories earlier the year to try to curb the outbreak this spring.
That’s left a backlog of pent up demand, especially for hot-selling SUVs and pickup trucks.
“In terms of deals, there’s not pressure on automakers to clear inventory,” Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights for auto research firm Edmunds, told CNBC.
“During the holidays, when they usually focus on model-year sell-down, we’re not in that position because a lot of that has already been done.”
Edmunds estimates the average discount on a new vehicle in October was $2,046, about 23% lower than last year. That trend is expected to continue in November
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