April Auto Sales Up Year Over Year but Reflect Seasonal Dip in Momentum, says Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — April 27, 2015 — Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shopping, forecasts that 1,464,176 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in April for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 16.7 million. The projected sales will be a 5.1 percent decrease from March 2015, and a 5.5 percent increase from April 2014.
"It is very common for April sales to be slower than March, which typically gets a boost from certain automakers who offer great deals to motivate shoppers as the companies close their fiscal year," says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "In fact, we often think of April as 'the calm before the summer storm.' It won't be long before the summer selldown of the outgoing model year vehicles, which always draws lots of foot traffic through dealerships."
April ranks 7th in terms of average sales volume per month over the past five years, just ahead of the quieter fall and winter months.
| Sales Volume | April 2015 Forecast | April 2014 | March 2015 | Change from April 2014 | Change from March 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors | 265,174 | 254,076 | 249,875 | 4.4% | 6.1% |
| Ford | 222,588 | 210,355 | 234,786 | 5.8% | -5.2% |
| Toyota | 211,530 | 199,660 | 225,959 | 5.9% | -6.4% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 192,027 | 178,652 | 197,261 | 7.5% | -2.7% |
| Honda | 132,476 | 132,456 | 126,293 | 0.0% | 4.9% |
| Nissan | 113,712 | 103,934 | 145,085 | 9.4% | -21.6% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 117,700 | 119,783 | 133,790 | -1.7% | -12.0% |
| VW/Audi | 47,777 | 46,484 | 47,127 | 2.8% | 1.4% |
| Industry | 1,464,176 | 1,387,677 | 1,542,871 | 5.5% | -5.1% |
Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 13.5 million vehicles in April, with fleet transactions accounting for 18.8 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.2 million used cars will be sold in April, for a SAAR of 36.7 million (compared to 3.5 million — or a SAAR of 36.1 million — used car sales in March).
| Market Share | April 2015 Forecast | April 2014 | March 2015 | Change from April 2014 | Change from March 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors | 18.1% | 18.3% | 16.2% | -0.2% | 1.9% |
| Ford | 15.2% | 15.2% | 15.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Toyota | 14.4% | 14.4% | 14.6% | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 13.1% | 12.9% | 12.8% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Honda | 9.0% | 9.5% | 8.2% | -0.5% | 0.9% |
| Nissan | 7.8% | 7.5% | 9.4% | 0.3% | -1.6% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 8.0% | 8.6% | 8.7% | -0.6% | -0.6% |
| VW/Audi | 3.3% | 3.3% | 3.1% | -0.1% | 0.2% |
More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in Edmunds.com's Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/.
About Edmunds.com
Car-shopping website Edmunds.com serves nearly 18 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise®, shoppers can get an instant, upfront price for cars and trucks currently for sale at 10,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Shoppers can browse not only dealer inventory, but also vehicle reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories on both Edmunds' wired site and on its acclaimed mobile apps. Regarded as one of the best places to work in Southern California, Edmunds.com was also named one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Automotive" by Fast Company. Edmunds welcomes all car-shopping questions at our Help Center and on Twitter and Facebook. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich., but you can find Edmunds from anywhere on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard.
