March SAAR to Hit 15.7 According to TrueCar; 2014 New Vehicle Sales Expected to be up 2 Percent Year-Over-Year

Estimated incentive spending climbs above $2,700 per vehicle - highest since 2010

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Mar 25, 2014, 07:00 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueCar, the negotiation-free car buying platform, today released its March 2014 sales and incentives forecast, which shows the following:

New light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) are expected to be 1,478,000 units, up 1.8 percent from March 2013 and up 24.1 percent from February 2014.
Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate ("SAAR") of 15.7 million new vehicle sales is up 3.1 percent from March 2013 and up 2.8 percent over February 2014.
Share of retail sales is up 2.2 percent compared to March 2013 and down 0.2 percent from February 2014.
Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 17.3 percent of total industry sales in March 2014.
The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,773 in March 2014, an increase of 7.9 percent from March 2013, and an increase of 2.6 percent from February 2014.
Used car sales* are estimated to be 3,437,000. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:2.3 for March 2014.

"The spring thaw has resulted in a slight improvement in vehicle sales, but not nearly the improvement analysts hoped they would see," said Larry Dominique, President of ALG and Executive Vice President of TrueCar. "With incentives rising at a rate four-times greater than sales, expect an aggressive final week of selling in March and an equally aggressive April. An incentive-fueled battle is on the horizon."

TrueCar continues to maintain its 16.1 million unit sales projection for 2014.

Forecasts for the top eight manufacturers for March 2014:

Unit Sales
Manufacturer	March 2014 Forecast	% Change vs. March 2013	% Change vs. February 2014
Chrysler	191,000	11.3%	23.3%
Ford	240,000	1.8%	30.9%
GM	246,000	0.0%	10.8%
Honda	138,000	1.4%	37.4%
Hyundai/Kia	116,000	-1.2%	28.6%
Nissan	132,000	-4.2%	14.4%
Toyota	208,000	1.3%	30.6%
Volkswagen Group	52,000	-4.5%	26.1%
Industry	1,478,000	1.8%	24.1%

Market Share
Manufacturer	March 2014 Forecast	Mar-13	Feb-14
Chrysler	12.9%	11.8%	13.0%
Ford	16.2%	16.2%	15.4%
GM	16.6%	16.9%	18.6%
Honda	9.3%	9.4%	8.4%
Hyundai/Kia	7.8%	8.1%	7.6%
Nissan	8.9%	9.5%	9.7%
Toyota	14.1%	14.1%	13.4%
Volkswagen Group	3.5%	3.7%	3.5%

Incentive Spending
Manufacturer	Mar. 2014 Incentives	% Change vs. Mar. 2013	% Change vs. Feb. 2014	Total Spending
Chrysler	$3,349	0.8%	3.1%	$639,641,524
Ford	$3,260	10.7%	2.4%	$782,414,637
GM	$3,719	0.6%	5.8%	$914,990,379
Honda	$1,991	27.0%	3.6%	$274,814,077
Hyundai/Kia	$1,965	45.4%	1.9%	$227,936,394
Nissan	$2,889	4.8%	3.7%	$381,285,316
Toyota	$1,864	18.7%	3.4%	$387,629,407
Volkswagen Group	$2,578	7.3%	2.5%	$134,035,426
Industry	$2,773	7.9%	2.6%	$4,095,062,799

TrueCar 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 inventory, incentives, fuel prices, and macro economic data (major stock market indexes, consumer confidence, new home starts and CPI). TrueCar 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
TrueCar is the negotiation-free car buying platform. TrueCar empowers car buyers by giving them transparent insight into what others actually paid, upfront pricing information, and a network of trusted TrueCar Certified Dealers who provide guaranteed savings certificates and seamlessly complete the car purchase. The reality is buying a car is painful and buyers fear they are going to overpay. TrueCar's transparent upfront pricing information and guaranteed savings certificate make the car buying process simple so buyers never overpay. TrueCar's mission is to prove that truth and transparency is a more profitable way of doing business -- starting with automotive. Its national network of more than 7,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers is committed to providing negotiation-free savings for some of the country's largest membership and service organizations, including AARP, American Express, AAA, USAA and Consumer Reports. Note: Not all program features are available in all states. Go to www.truecar.com for program details. TrueCar is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

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