High fuel prices, high consumer debt and a suffering residential housing market are to blame for a 7 percent decline of new-car and light-truck registrations during the first quarter of 2007, compared to the same period a year earlier. According to the California Motor Car Dealers Association’s new quarterly report, “California Auto Outlook,” the forecast for the state’s new vehicle market this year will continue to be somewhat bleak. According to the report, new light vehicle registrations in the state, which include retail and fleet transactions, will decline by 3.9 percent for the entire year. However, car registrations are still strong compared to previous figures, said CMCDA Chairman Peter Hoffman. “It appears that there are opportunities in the shift from large SUVs to compact SUVs and in the drift back to cars from trucks,” he said. “If drivers want to reduce their gas consumption and lessen the environmental impacts of their transportation choices, the increasing number of fuel-efficient and alternative-technology vehicles our manufactures are producing should provide a strong motivation for consumers to visit California new car dealerships.”
