Car stereo shipments were up last year by 7 percent in dollars, (excluding Bluetooth headsets, which the Consumer Electronics Assoc. lumps in with autosound).
As noted in our speaker story, car stereo went from “stuck in reverse” to a stint in “overdrive.”
Car CD—a category considered in decline—rose 7 percent in 2010 shipments. And speaker shipments soared 41 percent.
This contrasts with reports from the NPD Group, which found sales flat in car electronics for 2010. NPD measures sell-through to consumers, while CEA measures sell-in to retailers.
2010 marked “a return from the doldrums.” Retailers replenished inventory, and some picked up the business lost from the closing of Circuit City stores, said CEA’s Steve Koenig.
There was a return to consumer spending, plus some pent up demand. And consumers are holding onto cars longer.
But all that’s not enough on its own to lift car electronics from the doldrums. Overall car electronics shipments should fall this year by one percent (including Bluetooth headset sales), declining another 3 percent in 2012 and then 4 percent each in 2013 and 2014, predicts the CEA.
Other statistics for 2010 over 2009 from the CEA (shipments in dollars):
Amp shipments fell by 13 percent.
Hands free cellphone kits fared poorly with a 44 percent decline
Shipments of head units with iPod/USB connectivity were up 50 percent
HD radio had a good year with shipments of head units with built in HD Radio up 180 percent
Source: CEA
Shipments may have been up… But profits were certainly down.
Giveaway pricing will typically result in more sales.
Doesn’t mean “the industry rebounded in 2010!”
Let’s get a little real about this, shall we?