California New Vehicle Registrations Decline 5.5% First Half of Year

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 17, 2006 -- The California Motor Car Dealers Association (CMCDA) announced that new light vehicle registrations in California declined 5.5% during the first half of this year versus a year earlier. Consistent with these results, the outlook for the state's new vehicle market this year is somewhat cloudy, according to CMCDA's new quarterly report, California Auto Outlook Second Quarter 2006.

The report predicts that new light vehicle registrations (including retail and fleet transactions) in the state will decline 3.1% from 2005 to 2006. There are a multitude of reasons for the projected decline in registrations this year. Among them are high fuel prices, elevated consumer debt levels, and rising interest rates.

"CMCDA does not believe that the market is on the precipice of a pronounced and prolonged decline. Although we expect a decline this year, registrations are still likely to exceed 2,090,000 units, which historically is a very good year," said Bert Boeckmann, CMCDA Chairman. "In addition, the manufacturers are adept at introducing new products that hit consumer hot buttons providing a strong motivation for consumers to visit California new car dealerships."

California Auto Outlook Second Quarter 2006 provides comprehensive information on the state's new vehicle market with charts and graphs. The report includes: top 10 vehicle brands; a market perspective; segment watch, brand sales performance in the California market, top 10 selling models and more. The complete report can be accessed on CMCDA's new website www.cmcda.org.

California Auto Outlook, is produced for CMCDA by Auto Outlook, Inc., an independent research company specializing in the analysis of statewide and regional automotive markets. Vehicle Registration data was obtained from AutoCount, an Experian Company.

About CMCDA

The California Motor Car Dealers Association is the country's largest state association of franchised new car and truck dealers with over 1,350 dealer members.