Edmunds.com Forecasts Auto Sales; Domestic Production Cuts Exacerbate Seasonal Slump
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SANTA MONICA, Calif.--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.15 million units, a 0.9 percent increase from January 2006, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information.
This January had 25 selling days, one more than January 2006. When adjusted for this difference, sales are expected to decrease 3.1 percent from January 2006. (The chart below sets forth other unadjusted and adjusted comparisons.)
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Forecasted change from January 2006 |
Forecasted change from January 2006 |
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| Chrysler | -6.5% | -2.6% | ||
| Ford | -17.5% | -14.0% | ||
| GM | -9.4% | -5.6% | ||
| Honda | 5.3% | 9.7% | ||
| Nissan | -1.4% | 2.7% | ||
| Toyota | 14.3% | 19.0% | ||
| Industry Total | -3.1% | 0.9% |
"The domestic automakers have cut production to better match demand while the Japanese automakers are building and selling more vehicles than ever before," said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com.
The combined monthly U.S. market share for the domestic nameplates of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors is estimated to be 52.4 percent in January 2007, down from 57.1 percent in January 2006 and down from 52.7 percent from December 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 151,000 units in January 2007, down 20.5 percent compared to December 2006. This would result in a new car market share of 13.2 percent for Chrysler in January 2007, down from 13.6 percent in January 2006 and down from 13.4 percent in December 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 174,000 units in January 2007, down 22.7 percent compared to December 2006. This would result in a market share of 15.1 percent of new car sales in January 2007 for Ford, down from 17.7 percent in January 2006 and down from 15.8 percent in December 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 277,000 units in January 2007, down 17.2 percent compared to December 2006. GM's market share is expected to be 24.1 percent of new vehicle sales in January 2007, down from 25.8 percent in January 2006 but up from 23.5 percent in December 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 108,000 units in January 2007, down 18.1 percent from December 2006. Its market share is expected to be 9.4 percent in January 2007, up from 8.6 percent in January 2006 and up from 9.3 percent in December 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 78,000 units in January 2007, down 15.1 percent from December 2006. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.8 percent in January 2007, up slightly from 6.7 percent in January 2006 and up from 6.4 percent in December 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 191,000 units in January 2007, down 16.2 percent from December 2006. Toyota's market share is expected to be 16.6 percent in January 2007, up from 14.1 percent in January 2006 and up from 16.0 percent from December 2006.
“Historically, January is a weak sales month and this year is no exception,” notes Toprak. “The height of truck-buying season is behind us, which hurts most of the automakers’ month-over-month comparisons.”
About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)
Edmunds Inc. publishes three Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers and enthusiasts. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. 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 "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in January 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in February 2006 and is an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.
