July Sales Expected to Get the Second Half of 2016 off to a Fast Start, Forecasts Edmunds.com

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Jul 27, 2016, 12:56 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Edmunds.com, the leading car information and shopping network, forecasts that 1,519,576 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in July for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 17.8 million. This reflects a 0.7 percent increase from June 2016, and a 0.8 percent increase from July 2015. The forecast anticipates that it will be the best for the month of July since 1.8 million sales were registered in July 2005.

Edmunds.com projects that 10,159,636 new cars and trucks will be sold this year in the U.S. through the end of July, up 1.3 percent from the 10,028,814 sales recorded through the first seven months of 2015's record-breaking year.

"Last year's record-setting sales performance was powered primarily by a strong second half, and July sales suggest that 2016 is poised to play out in the same way," says Edmunds.com Executive Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. "With low interest rates and a leasing market that's stronger than ever, automakers have a great opportunity to build on last year's burst of summer sales. The growth might not be as significant as in recent years, but it's still growth nonetheless."

SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER

Sales Volume	July 2016 Forecast	July 2015	June 2016	Change from July 2015	Change from June 2016
GM	277,636	272,512	255,210	1.9%	8.8%
Ford	218,276	222,014	239,096	-1.7%	-8.7%
Toyota	212,581	217,181	198,257	-2.1%	7.2%
Fiat Chrysler	184,447	178,027	197,073	3.6%	-6.4%
Honda	147,080	146,324	138,715	0.5%	6.0%
Nissan	136,614	130,872	140,553	4.4%	-2.8%
Hyundai/Kia	132,091	127,324	130,083	3.7%	1.5%
VW/Audi	41,895	48,954	42,254	-14.4%	-0.8%
Industry	1,519,576	1,507,663	1,509,177	0.8%	0.7%

*NOTE: July 2016 had 26 selling days, July 2015 had 26 and June 2016 had 26.

Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 15.3 million vehicles in July 2016, with fleet transactions accounting for 14.1 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.4 million used cars will be sold in July 2016, for a SAAR of 38.7 million (compared to 3.2 million – or a SAAR of 38.7 million – used car sales in June 2016).

MARKET SHARE FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER

Market Share	July 2016 Forecast	July 2015	June 2016	Change from July 2015	Change from June 2016
GM	18.3%	18.1%	16.9%	0.2%	1.4%
Ford	14.4%	14.7%	15.8%	-0.4%	-1.5%
Toyota	14.0%	14.4%	13.1%	-0.4%	0.9%
Fiat Chrysler	12.1%	11.8%	13.1%	0.3%	-0.9%
Honda	9.7%	9.7%	9.2%	0.0%	0.5%
Nissan	9.0%	8.7%	9.3%	0.3%	-0.3%
Hyundai/Kia	8.7%	8.4%	8.6%	0.2%	0.1%
VW/Audi	2.8%	3.2%	2.8%	-0.5%	0.0%

More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in Edmunds.com's Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/.

About Edmunds.com, Inc.
Car shopping destination Edmunds.com serves millions of visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise^®, shoppers can buy smarter with instant, upfront prices for cars and trucks currently for sale at 10,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Shoppers can browse not only dealer inventory, but also vehicle reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories on both Edmunds' wired site and on its acclaimed mobile apps. Regarded as one of the best places to work in Southern California, Edmunds.com was also named one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Automotive" by Fast Company. Edmunds welcomes all car-shopping questions on its free Live Help Line at 1-855-782-4711 and [email protected], via text at ED411 and on Twitter and Facebook. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich., but you can find Edmunds from anywhere on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard.