Edmunds.com Forecasts November Auto Sales: Strong Compact Cars and Midsize SUVs Sales

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 29, 2006 -- This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.22 million units, a 5.0 percent increase from November 2005 and a 0.5 percent increase from October 2006, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information.

"Perhaps in part because gas prices have steadily increased this month, compact cars sales have grown approximately 16 percent over last year," said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "Large SUVs are still taking a hit, with segment sales down nine percent compared to last year, while the more fuel efficient midsize SUVs are up about 17 percent over last year."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 53.6 percent in November 2006, down from 54.6 percent in November 2005 and down from 55.1 percent in October 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 155,000 units in November 2006, down 3.1 percent compared to November 2005 and down 2.9 percent from October 2006. This would result in a new car market share of 12.7 percent for Chrysler in November 2006, down from 13.8 percent in November 2005 and down from 13.2 percent in October 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 201,000 units in November 2006, up 2.1 percent compared to November 2005 but down 4.5 percent from October 2006. This would result in a market share of 16.5 percent of new car sales in November 2006 for Ford, down from 16.9 percent in November 2005 and down from 17.3 percent in October 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 298,000 units in November 2006, up 7.4 percent compared to November 2005 and unchanged from October 2006. GM's market share is expected to be 24.5 percent of new vehicle sales in November 2006, up from 23.9 percent in November 2005 and unchanged from October 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 116,000 units in November 2006, up 9.6 percent from November 2005 and up 4.9 percent from October 2006. Its market share is expected to be 9.5 percent in November 2006, up from 9.1 percent in November 2005 and up from 9.1 percent in October 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 79,000 units in November 2006, up 2.9 percent from November 2005 and up 5.8 percent from October 2006. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.5 percent in November 2006, down slightly from 6.6 percent in November 2005 and up from 6.2 percent in October 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 195,000 units in November 2006, up 14.7 percent from November 2005 and up 3.0 percent from October 2006. Toyota's market share is expected to be 16.0 percent in November 2006, up from 14.6 percent in November 2005 and up from 15.6 percent in October 2006.

About Edmunds.com, Inc. (www.edmunds.com)

Edmunds.com, 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(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 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.