DETROIT (Reuters) - AutoNation Inc (AN.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Mike Jackson said on Monday a recovery in U.S. auto sales will not occur until housing prices stabilize and credit becomes more widely available again, and the market is bumping along the bottom.
Jackson said at the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit that when the recovery in the U.S. auto market will begin is unclear as consumers are still "spooked."
"I see it bouncing along the bottom and then a recovery," he said.
Jackson said despite the decline in gasoline prices recently, consumer buying habits will not change until the housing market begins to recover and consumers can more easily get loans to buy or lease vehicles.
He added that dealers will not buy 2009 model vehicles in large volumes until they clear out much of their 2008 model inventory. The dealers have the traffic for higher sales, but many customers cannot get approved for financing, he said.
(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)
(Reporting by Ben Klayman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
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