Long Island auto sales surge in September on Labor Day boost

Long Island's new vehicle market surged in September as did sales nationally, on strong Labor Day discounting and the inclusion of the entire holiday weekend in the month this year instead of partly in August.

Nassau and Suffolk motorists registered 21,665 new cars and light trucks -- SUVs, vans and pickups -- in September, or 13.4 percent more than in the same period a year earlier, according to figures compiled for the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.

It was the local market's strongest monthly performance this year, in terms of percentage gain. But, for the year through September, new vehicle registrations on Long Island are up by only 2.3 percent from the first nine months of last year.

Nationally, sales rose by almost 16 percent in September from a year earlier and are up by 5 percent for the year to date, according to the trade paper Automotive News. Sales approximate new vehicle registrations.

On Long Island, Nassau's market is showing greater strength than Suffolk's, with registrations up 18.3 percent in September compared with 8.6 percent in Suffolk. For the first nine months, Nassau's registrations ran 4 percent ahead of a year earlier, while Suffolk's were up by less than 1 percent.