Retail Market Keeps Auto Industry at Full Speed in August, Forecasts Edmunds.com

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Aug 30, 2013, 08:00 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Edmunds.com, the premier resource for car shopping and automotive information, forecasts that 1,455,911 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in August for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 15.6 million. The projected sales will be a 10.9 percent increase from July 2013, and a 13.3 percent increase from August 2012.

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"Car buyers are continuing their steady march into car dealerships and they'll keep marching right through Labor Day weekend with attractive deals and promotions luring them in," says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs. "While retail sales are strong in August, automakers are further reducing their dependence on fleet sales. This month's fleet percentage of total sales looks to be the lowest since at least 2007, and the result will be stronger resale values for customers buying new cars and healthier bottom lines for automakers."

SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER

Sales Volume	Aug-13 Forecast	Aug-12	Jul-13	Change from Aug 2012*	Change from Jul 2013*
GM	266,868	240,520	234,071	11.0%	14.0%
Toyota	217,915	188,520	193,394	15.6%	12.7%
Ford	215,298	196,749	193,080	9.4%	11.5%
Chrysler Group	161,785	148,472	140,102	9.0%	15.5%
Honda	156,688	131,321	141,439	19.3%	10.8%
Hyundai/Kia	123,185	111,127	115,009	10.9%	7.1%
Nissan	112,849	98,515	109,041	14.5%	3.5%
VW/Audi	54,031	52,538	48,843	2.8%	10.6%
Industry	1,455,911	1,284,633	1,313,013	13.3%	10.9%

*NOTE: August 2013 had 28 selling days, August 2012 had 27 and July 2013 had 25.

Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 13.5 million vehicles in August, with fleet transactions accounting for 13.6 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.02 million used cars will be sold in August, for a SAAR of 36.4 million (compared to 3.17 million – or a SAAR of 35.7 million – used car sales in July).

AUTOMAKER PERFORMANCE

Edmunds.com projects that General Motors could deliver its highest single-month sales (266,868) since September 2008. GM also stands to gain the biggest piece of market share (+0.5 percentage points) of any major manufacturer from July to August.

Meanwhile, Honda's projected 19.3% year-over-year sales increase will be the biggest gain by any major automaker in August.

MARKET SHARE FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER

Market Share	Aug-13 Forecast	Aug-12	Jul-13	Change from August 2012 (Percentage pts.)	Change from July 2013 (Percentage pts.)
GM	18.3%	18.7%	17.8%	-0.4%	0.5%
Toyota	15.0%	14.7%	14.7%	0.3%	0.2%
Ford	14.8%	15.3%	14.7%	-0.5%	0.1%
Chrysler Group	11.1%	11.6%	10.7%	-0.4%	0.4%
Honda	10.8%	10.2%	10.8%	0.5%	0.0%
Hyundai/Kia	8.5%	8.7%	8.8%	-0.2%	-0.3%
Nissan	7.8%	7.7%	8.3%	0.1%	-0.6%
VW/Audi	3.7%	4.1%	3.7%	-0.4%	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.
Edmunds.com is a car-shopping Web site committed to helping people find the car that meets their every need. Almost 18 million visitors use our research, shopping and buying tools every month to make an easy and informed decision on their next new or used car. Whether you're at the dealership or on the go, we're always by your side with our acclaimed Edmunds.com iPhone and iPad apps and our Edmunds.com Android App. Our comprehensive car reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories offer a friendly and authentic approach to the automotive world. We're based in Santa Monica, Calif., but you can connect with us from anywhere by following @Edmunds on Twitter or by becoming a fan of Edmunds.com on Facebook.

Contact:
Jeannine Fallon/Aaron Lewis/Stephanie Mar
Edmunds.com Corporate Communications
www.Edmunds.com
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SOURCE Edmunds.com