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 |
December | November | Change
from | Change from |
|
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 | December | November | Change
from | Change from |
|
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% |