Gas prices have dipped to their lowest levels in months, but that doesn?t mean Baltimore-area and Maryland motorists will return to gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, a local economist and car dealer said.
Towson-based AAA Mid-Atlantic announced this week that the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Baltimore and Maryland fell to $2.98 a gallon Tuesday, the lowest price since June 29.
Since gas prices began to rise last year with the national average topping $3 per gallon in recent months, automakers have reported huge drop in sales of SUVs and a jump in economy car sales.
“We have seen a sea change in what people are looking at,” said Scott Donahoo, owner of Baltimore?s Foreign Motors, which sells new and used Kia, Suzuki, Hyundai and Ford vehicles.
“Last year, we were selling two to three trucks for every car. Now its two to three cars to every truck,” Donahoo said.
He said he plans to begin selling an electric vehicle within the next several weeks.
But Anibar Basu, CEO of Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group, an economic forecast and research firm, said motorists are still buying SUVs.
“You still see a lot of SUVs on the road,” Basu said.
He said that gas prices will likely have to hit more than $4 per gallon before motorists truly abandoned gas-guzzling vehicles.
Automakers have launched huge incentives and cash deals to move sport-utility vehicles off dealer lots, according to report on incentive deals in Automotive News.
Ford is offering up to $5,000 cash back on its F-series pickup truck, Expedition SUV and Freestar minivan.
General Motors Corp. is offering up to $2,500 cash back on its full-size pick up trucks. And some automakers, including Ford, are offering gas rebates up to $6,000 depending on the size of the vehicle purchase, according to Automotive News.
