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The Economy and the Weather Contribute to Strong December Auto Sales


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SANTA MONICA, CA -- Dec. 23, 2014: Edmunds.com forecasts that 1,511,309 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in December for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 16.8 million. The projected sales will be a 16.4 percent increase from November 2014, and an 11.4 percent increase from December 2013.

Based on Edmunds.com's December forecast, overall U.S. light vehicle sales will be 16.5 million for the 2014 calendar year, a 6.0 percent increase over 2013.

"Many factors have helped car sales recently," says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "Low gas prices, a record stock market and the improving economy are making people feel more financially comfortable, and even the weather has cooperated, for the most part."

SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER

SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER


 

 

 

 

 

 

Sales Volume

December 2014
Forecast

December
2013

November
2014

Change from
December 2013

Change from
November 2014

GM

262,191

230,157

225,816

13.9%

16.1%

Ford

224,914

216,592

186,336

3.8%

20.7%

Toyota

219,587

190,843

183,346

15.1%

19.8%

Chrysler Group

200,621

161,008

170,839

24.6%

17.4%

Honda

140,023

135,255

121,814

3.5%

14.9%

Nissan

114,878

109,758

103,188

4.7%

11.3%

Hyundai/Kia

105,995

96,636

98,608

9.7%

7.5%

VW/Audi

53,312

51,028

48,246

4.5%

10.5%

Industry

1,511,309

1,356,985

1,298,436

11.4%

16.4%

*NOTE: December 2014 had 26 selling days, December 2013 had 25 and November 2014 had 25.


 

Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 14.0 million vehicles in December, with fleet transactions accounting for 16.5 percent of total sales. An estimated 35.6 million used cars will be sold in December, for a SAAR of 35.6 million (compared to 2.64 million – or a SAAR of 36.3 million – used car sales in November).

AUTOMAKER PERFORMANCE

MARKET SHARE FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER


 

 

 

 

 

 

Market Share

December
2014
Forecast

December
2013

November
2014

Change from
December 2013

Change from
November 2014

GM

17.3%

17.0%

17.4%

0.4%

0.0%

Ford

14.9%

16.0%

14.4%

-1.1%

0.5%

Chrysler Group

13.3%

11.9%

13.2%

1.4%

0.1%

Honda

9.3%

10.0%

9.4%

-0.7%

-0.1%

Nissan

7.6%

8.1%

7.9%

-0.5%

-0.3%

Toyota

14.5%

14.1%

14.1%

0.5%

0.4%

Hyundai/Kia

7.0%

7.1%

7.6%

-0.1%

-0.6%

VW/Audi

3.5%

3.8%

3.7%

-0.2%

-0.2%