Retail Car Sales Strong in August, Reports Edmunds.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif., August 19, 2010: Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive information, today reports that if car sales in August continue at the current pace, they will total approximately 1.03 million units, a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of about 11.8 million units. This analysis assumes that fleet sales are relatively steady as a percentage of total vehicle sales compared to last month.

“So far in August, Edmunds.com's monitoring of vehicle retail transactions show some increase from last month, beyond the seasonal norm but July car sales were underwhelming in light of the abundant incentives available”

"It looks like bargain hunters are getting serious about taking advantage of the model year-end deals," commented Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl in his blog "Just to Clarify" at http://justtoclarify.typepad.com/. "But this is a bargain-driven market, so as the deals dry up, sales will likely trend down from here."

Based on the first two weeks of data for August, Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Ray Zhou, PhD, expects BMW to be up the most dramatically compared with last month, 22 percent, while Ford, Honda, Mercedes and Volkswagen sales may be up about seven or eight percent. General Motors and Nissan sales are expected to be down six or seven percent, and all other automakers€™ sales will be steady compared to last month.

"So far in August, Edmunds.com's monitoring of vehicle retail transactions show some increase from last month, beyond the seasonal norm but July car sales were underwhelming in light of the abundant incentives available," stated Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs in her report at http://www.autoobserver.com/2010/08/like-automakers-and-their-dealers-retailers-ask-where-are-consumers.html.

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Edmunds.com Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its mobile site, accessible from any smartphone at www.edmunds.com, makes car pricing and other research tools available for car shoppers at dealerships and otherwise on the go. InsideLine.com is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. Its mobile site, accessible from any smartphone at www.insideline.com, features the wireless Web's highest quality car photos and videos. CarSpace is the most established automotive social networking Web site. AutoObserver.com provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds.com Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit. Follow Edmunds.com on Twitter@edmunds and fan Edmunds.com on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/edmunds. Subscribe to Edmunds.com's newsletter and enter to win a $500 gas gift card at http://www.edmunds.com/newsletter-sweepstakes.html.