Edmunds.com Forecasts April Auto Sales: Big Six Essentially Flat While Lower Volume Automakers Post Great Gains
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--April 27, 2006--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.43 million units, a six percent decrease from March 2006, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information. This amounts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 16.6 million units.This April had 26 selling days, one fewer than last April did. Without adjusting for this difference, sales are down four percent from April 2005. Adjusting for this difference, sales are down one percent from April 2005. (The chart below sets forth other unadjusted and adjusted comparisons.)
Forecasted Sales Volume Changes for April 2006
Change from April 2005 Change from April 2005
(Adjusted for fewer (Unadjusted for fewer
selling days) selling days)
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Chrysler 1% -3%
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Ford -4% -8%
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GM -7% -10%
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Honda -1% -5%
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Nissan 1% -3%
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Toyota 3% -1%
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Industry Total -1% -4%
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"When you adjust for selling days, auto sales are essentially flat compared with this time last year," said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "We anticipate May will be more robust."
The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 55.8 percent in April, down from 57.7 percent in April 2005 and down from 56.5 percent in March 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 201,000 units in April, down seven percent compared to March 2006. This would result in a new car market share of 14.1 percent for Chrysler in April, up from 13.8 percent in April 2005 but down slightly from 14.2 percent in March 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 256,000 units in April, down nearly eleven percent compared to March 2006. This would result in a market share of 17.9 percent of new car sales in April for Ford, down from 18.4 percent in April 2005 and down from 18.7 percent in March 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 342,000 units in April, down five percent compared to March 2006. GM's market share is expected to be 23.9 percent of new vehicle sales in April, down from 25.5 percent in April 2005 and up from 23.6 percent in March 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 129,000 units in April, unchanged from March 2006. Its market share is expected to be 9.0 percent in April, unchanged from April 2005 and up from 8.4 percent in March 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 89,000 units in April, down nearly 14 percent from March 2006. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.2 percent, up slightly from 6.1 percent in April 2005 and down from 6.8 percent in March 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 209,000 units in April, down four percent from March 2006. Toyota's market share is expected to be 14.6 percent in April, up from 14.0 percent in April 2005 and up from 14.2 percent in March 2006.
"Several smaller volume brands enjoyed great success this month," observed Toprak. "We forecast double-digit percentage gains over April 2005 (adjusted for fewer selling days) by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Suzuki, and Volkswagen."
About Edmunds.com Inc.
Edmunds.com is the premier online resource for automotive information. Its comprehensive set of data, tools and services is generated by Edmunds.com Information Solutions and is licensed to third parties and used by over 15,000 cars dealers including 98 of the 100 dealers named to the Ward's Dealer Business "e-Dealer 100" list. Perhaps the most popular consumer product, Edmunds.com True Market Value(R) pricing, is relied upon by millions of people seeking market-reflective valuations for new and used vehicles. The company also supplies content for the auto sections of NYTimes.com, AOL, CNN.com and About.com; provides weekly data to Automotive News; and delivers monthly data reports to Wall Street analysts. In addition, Edmunds.com publishes Inside Line (www.insideline.com), a free high-speed online magazine for auto enthusiasts, and CarSpace (www.carspace.com), an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated No. 1 in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.
