By Nathan Gomez
(Reuters) – Major U.S. automakers reported slower sales growth in the second quarter after a cyberattack on software company CDK Systems Inc. impacted operations at several dealerships during a crucial sales period in late June.
General Motors reported a 0.6% rise in new vehicle sales, compared with a 19% increase last year, and said some sales would carry over to the current quarter because of the hack.
Toyota Auto sales in North America rose about 9%, well below last year’s jump of about 20%.
Market research firm Cox Automotive estimates that U.S. new-vehicle sales in the second quarter are likely to grow 1% to nearly 4.2 million units. That compares with an annual increase of about 16% in 2023.
CDK said Tuesday it was “on track” and that nearly all dealer communications were back online on the dealer management system.
“The CDK cyberattack weighed heavily on sales during the second half of June, impacting what is arguably one of the busiest and most profitable times of the month and quarter for dealers,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds.
The CDK outage was the latest issue facing automakers in the United States, where more than 15,000 retail locations relied on the retail technology provider for their dealer management system.
Hyundai (OTC:), which noted that dealers were affected by the CDK outage, reported a nearly 2% increase in second-quarter U.S. sales, compared with a 14% increase a year ago. Honda (NYSE:) reported a 2% increase in overall sales.
However, analysts expect retailers and automakers to recover most of their lost sales in July.
“Concerns about the affordability of new vehicles remain prevalent, and inventories are not expected to advance as strongly as they have over the past 12 months,” said Chris Hopson, an analyst at S&P Global Mobility.
Electric vehicle pioneer Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) reported a 5% drop in second-quarter deliveries, below expectations, as price cuts and incentives helped spur demand.
