Best October for New Car Sales Since 2007 According to TrueCar; 2013 New Car Sales Expected to be up 14.2 Percent

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueCar.com, an authority on new car pricing information, trends and forecasting, today released its October 2013 sales and incentives forecast, which shows the following:

• The new car sales forecast for October 2013 is the best October since 2007.
• For October 2013, new light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) are expected to be 1,241,235 units, up 14.2 percent from October 2012 and up 9.5 percent from September 2013.
• The October 2013 forecast translates into a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate ("SAAR") of 15.6 million new car sales, up 2.6 percent from September 2013 and up 9.7 percent over October 2012.
• Retail sales are up 0.6 percent compared to October 2012 and up 0.1 percent from September 2013.
• Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 16.3 percent of total industry sales in October 2013.
• The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,379 in October 2013, which represents an increase of 3.5 percent from October 2012 but a decrease of -3.4 percent from September 2013. Incentives are at their lowest percentage since October 2012.
• Used car sales* are estimated to be 3,457,244. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:3 for October 2013.

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"The government shutdown turned out not to be a factor in October sales," said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for TrueCar.com. "A combination of factors, including low interest rates, attractive lease specials and great products continued to bring customers to showrooms in healthy numbers this month."

Forecasts for the top eight manufacturers for October 2013:

"Overall incentive spending hit its lowest level in a year," said Kristen Andersson, analyst at TrueCar.com. "Nissan had double digit sales gains this month while spending less than two thousand dollars per unit, which they haven't done since June 2005." 

TrueCar.com bases its forecast on actual transaction data. The transaction data based forecast is refined by other current and historical factors that impact vehicle sales, including sales, inventory, incentives, fuel prices, and macro economic data (major stock market indexes, consumer confidence, new home starts and CPI).  TrueCar.com does not adjust for selling days in year-over-year percentage change calculations.

*Used car sales figures include sales from franchise dealerships, independent dealerships and private party sales

About TrueCar, Inc.
TrueCar, Inc., headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas, is an automotive pricing information and analysis company that creates a better buying experience for dealers and consumers.  As an online publisher of unbiased new and used car transaction data, TrueCar.com provides price reports that empower dealers and consumers to agree on the parameters of a fair deal by supplying a transparent, simple understanding of what others recently paid for similarly-equipped new cars in their geographic area.  TrueCar also owns ALG, the benchmark for vehicle value information in the auto industry and has been forecasting residual values for nearly 50 years in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

TrueCar is a data-driven company that sources, compiles and analyzes car-buying information unlike anybody in the industry. Since its founding in 2005, TrueCar dealer partners have sold over 900,000 vehicles across the country. Its national network of more than 6,600 Certified Dealers is committed to provide no-hassle pricing for some of the country's largest membership and service organizations, including American Express, AAA, USAA and Consumer Reports that collectively represent more than one million monthly in-market customers.

You can follow TrueCar on Twitter (@TrueCar) and become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook and Google+.

Disclaimer
This press release and the information contained herein is for noncommercial use on "as-is, as available" basis and may be used for informational purposes only.  TrueCar makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information contained in this press release and the results of the use of such information, including without limitation, the implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.  The information contained in this press release may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.  Neither TrueCar nor any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates or respective partners, officers, directors, employees or agents shall be held liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect, special or consequential, including without limitation, lost revenues or lost profits arising from or in connection with your use or reliance on the information presented in this press release.

SOURCE TrueCar.com