After being closed for two months amid the coronavirus pandemic, car dealerships in the Valencia Auto Center were eagerly awaiting Memorial Day weekend, which has historically been the highest weekend in auto sale volume of the year.
Santa Clarita’s car and truck customers didn’t disappoint.
Over Memorial Day weekend, local dealerships reported a total of 497 units sold — an increase of four vehicles vs. the same Friday-to-Monday span in 2019, according to the Santa Clarita Auto Dealers Association.
Don and Cheri Fleming, Valencia Acura co-owners, said they were looking forward to allowing buyers to release the pent-up demand, a statement that rang true as dealerships saw sales continue to rebound in their third weekend open.
“It was really exciting,” Don Fleming, who is also president of the association, said via email. “Up and down the Auto Center, all dealers had a great weekend.”
Frontier Toyota General Manager Bob Corson agreed, adding, “This weekend was great. It was a pleasant welcome to see people out again.”
While Corson said consumer confidence was strong, he also commended customers for abiding by the public health guidelines.
“The staff and community were cooperating with all the policies and procedures that we’ve put in place, and people were adhering to the social distancing,” he added. “It showed a lot of hope for the future of our economy and for the safety of our communities.”
With that, Corson said that because of the slowdown and manufacturers closing factories, inventory is very low.
“It’s getting depleted rapidly, so those that took advantage early were wise to do so because we could run out of cars,” he added.
