April Car Sales Continue Record-Setting Pace in 2016, Says Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — March 24, 2016 — Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shopping, forecasts that 1,514,855 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in April for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 17.5 million. The projected sales will be a 4.8 percent decrease from March 2016, but a 4.3 percent increase from April 2015. This month's sales are poised to eclipse the April record of 1,500,648 new car and truck sales set in 2005, and 2016 is on track to shatter last year's full-year record of 17.5 million sales.
"Even though Q1 ended with a relatively lackluster March the industry is still as strong as ever, and this month's sales will only reinforce that strength," said Edmunds.com Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. "Considering that April is typically the calm before the storm of summer sales, there's every reason to believe that 2016 will be a year for the history books."
| Sales Volume | April 2016 Forecast | April 2015 | March 2016 | Change from April 2015 |
Change from March 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 262,963 | 269,056 | 252,128 | -2.3% | 4.3% |
| Ford | 231,577 | 221,652 | 253,064 | 4.5% | -8.5% |
| Toyota | 213,182 | 203,329 | 219,842 | 4.8% | -3.0% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 197,759 | 189,027 | 213,187 | 4.6% | -7.2% |
| Honda | 145,589 | 130,068 | 138,221 | 11.9% | 5.3% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 127,229 | 121,291 | 133,589 | 4.9% | -4.8% |
| Nissan | 124,011 | 109,848 | 163,559 | 12.9% | -24.2% |
| VW/Audi | 45,607 | 46,836 | 45,306 | -2.6% | 0.7% |
| Industry | 1,514,855 | 1,451,812 | 1,591,227 | 4.3% | -4.8% |
*NOTE: April 2016 had 27 selling days, April 2015 had 26 and March 2015 had 27.
Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 14.4 million vehicles in April, with fleet transactions accounting for 18.4 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.3 million used cars will be sold in April, for a SAAR of 38.2 million (compared to 3.6 million — or a SAAR of 37.1 million — used car sales in March).
| Market Share | April 2016 Forecast | April 2015 | March 2016 | Change from April 2015 | Change from March 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 17.4% | 18.5% | 15.8% | -1.2% | 1.5% |
| Ford | 15.3% | 15.3% | 15.9% | 0.0% | -0.6% |
| Toyota | 14.1% | 14.0% | 13.8% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 13.1% | 13.0% | 13.4% | 0.0% | -0.3% |
| Honda | 9.6% | 9.0% | 8.7% | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 8.4% | 8.4% | 8.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Nissan | 8.2% | 7.6% | 10.3% | 0.6% | -2.1% |
| VW/Audi | 3.0% | 3.2% | 2.8% | -0.2% | 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 destination Edmunds.com serves nearly 20 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise®, shoppers can buy smarter with instant, upfront prices 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.
