Edmunds.com Forecasts May Auto Sales: High Gas Prices Drive Car Sales While Truck Sales Suffer

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--May 30, 2006--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.52 million units, a three percent decrease from April 2006, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information. This amounts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 16.9 million units.

This May had 25 selling days, one more than last May did. Without adjusting for this difference, sales are up about one percent from May 2005. (The chart below sets forth other unadjusted and adjusted comparisons.)

                 Change from May 2005    Change from May 2005
                 (Adjusted for more      (Unadjusted for more
                 selling days)           selling days)

Chrysler                 -8%                    -4%
Ford                     -8%                    -4%
GM                      -10%                    -6%
Honda                    14%                    18%
Nissan                   -5%                    -1%
Toyota                    9%                    13%
Industry Total         -2.6%                   1.5%

"High gas prices are motivating consumers to focus on smaller vehicles such as the new subcompacts from Honda and Toyota," said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "It is said that history repeats itself; one might observe that the automotive industry is now reliving some elements of the 1970s."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 55.1 percent in May, down from 58.9 percent in May 2005 but up from 54.6 percent in April 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 206,000 units in May, up nine percent compared to April 2006. This would result in a new car market share of 13.6 percent for Chrysler in May, down from 14.3 percent in May 2005 but up from 13.2 percent in April 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 267,000 units in May, up nearly four percent compared to April 2006. This would result in a market share of 17.6 percent of new car sales in May for Ford, down from 18.7 percent in May 2005 and 17.9 percent in April 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 363,000 units in May, up about seven percent compared to April 2006. GM's market share is expected to be 23.9 percent of new vehicle sales in May, down from 25.9 percent in May 2005 but up from 23.6 percent in April 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 144,000 units in May, up four percent from April 2006. Its market share is expected to be 9.5 percent in May, up from 8.2 percent in May 2005 but down from 9.6 percent in April 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 92,000 units in May, up nearly seven percent from April 2006. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.1 percent, down from 6.2 percent in May 2005 but up from 6.0 percent in April 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 228,000 units in May, up four percent from April 2006. Toyota's market share is expected to be 15.0 percent in May, up from 13.5 percent in May 2005 but down from 15.2 percent in April.

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 number one 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.