Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath is not expected to affect October US new light vehicle sales to any great extent and may, in fact, give November a boost, a west coast-based analyst told just-auto.

“Even though the storm will cause shoppers to postpone buying in the affected areas, we do not anticipate a drop in October or November car sales,” said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst at TrueCar.com.

“In fact, November sales may experience a small boost if the number of damaged vehicles is significant due to the replacement demand.”

Edmunds.com said initially said it would not be revising its October forecast but later told just-auto: “The last three days of October accounts for about 17% of the monthly sales, on average.

“The area of the country impacted by the hurricane accounts for about 20% of national sales. Considering the estimated total retail sales in October is around 930,000 vehicles, the ESTIMATED IMPACT is around 30,000 vehicles total for the month of October.”

Nissan North America announced it would offer employee pricing and discounted financing on Nissan and Infiniti vehicles to eligible buyers in FEMA-designated disaster and emergency areas who need to replace vehicles lost to Sandy.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Ford, meanwhile, has donated $50,000 to post-storm relief efforts and Toyota’s US arm, whose parent experienced the Japanese earthquake/tsunami last year, has kicked in $1m.