Edmunds.com Forecasts August Auto Sales
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Aug. 29, 2006--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.5 million units, a 1.3 percent increase from August 2005, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information."While sales are essentially flat, there is a drastic difference in the types of vehicles consumers are buying," noted Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "Large SUV sales are down approximately 14 percent compared with this time last year while compact car sales are up approximately 18 percent. This is especially significant for the industry since large SUVs typically transact at around $37,000 per vehicle while the transaction price for the typical compact car is about $17,000."
This August had 27 selling days, one more than last August did. When adjusted for this difference, sales are down about 2.5 percent from August 2005. (The chart below sets forth other unadjusted and adjusted comparisons.)
Change from August Change from August
2005 (Adjusted for 2005 (Unadjusted for
more selling days) more selling days)
Chrysler -15% -12%
Ford -15% -12%
GM 6% 10%
Honda -5% -1%
Nissan -11% -8%
Toyota 14% 18%
Industry Total -2.5% 1.3%
The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 53.3 percent in August, down from 55.4 percent in August 2005 and unchanged from July 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 164,000 units in August, up nearly ten percent compared to July 2006. This would result in a new car market share of 11.0 percent for Chrysler in August, down from 12.7 percent in August 2005 but up from 10.0 percent in July 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 248,000 units in August, up five percent compared to July 2006. This would result in a market share of 16.6 percent of new car sales in August for Ford, down from 19.1 percent in August 2005 but up from 15.9 percent in July 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 385,000 units in August, down five percent compared to July 2006. GM's market share is expected to be 25.7 percent of new vehicle sales in August, up from 23.7 percent in August 2005 but down from 27.3 percent in July 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 155,000 units in August, up two percent from July 2006. Its market share is expected to be 10.3 percent in August, down from 10.6 percent in August 2005 and but up slightly from 10.2 percent in July 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 85,000 units in August, down about one percent from July 2006. Nissan's market share is expected to be 5.7 percent, down from 6.3 percent in August 2005 and from 5.8 percent in July 2006.
Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 242,000 units in August, unchanged from July 2006. Toyota's market share is expected to be 16.2 percent in August, up from 13.9 percent in August 2005 and unchanged from July.
About Edmunds.com, Inc. (www.edmunds.com)
Edmunds.com publishes three Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers and enthusiasts. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information and its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value(R), 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 (www.insideline.com) launched in January 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace (www.carspace.com) 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.