August Car Sales to Keep 2016 on Record-Setting Pace, Says Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, CA — August 26, 2016 — Edmunds.com, the leading car information and shopping network, forecasts that 1,533,508 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in August for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 17.2 million. This reflects a 1.1 percent increase from July 2016, but a 2.5 percent decrease from August 2015.
Edmunds.com projects that 11,694,452 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. through the end of August, up 0.8 percent from the 11,604,525 sales recorded through the first eight months of 2015's record-breaking year.
"The summer isn't delivering explosive sales like we saw last year, but the industry is still on pace to set an annual sales record," says Edmunds.com Executive Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. "Automakers have done a good job this year of staying disciplined and managing their inventories. With volumes at record highs, they can focus even more attention on battles for market share."
| Sales Volume |
August 2016 Forecast |
August 2015 |
July 2016 |
Change from August 2015 |
Change from July 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 255,151 | 270,480 | 267,258 | -5.7% | -4.5% |
| Toyota | 218,237 | 224,381 | 214,233 | -2.7% | 1.9% |
| Ford | 210,923 | 233,880 | 215,268 | -9.8% | -2.0% |
| Chrysler Group | 202,783 | 201,672 | 180,727 | 0.6% | 12.2% |
| Honda | 159,309 | 155,491 | 152,799 | 2.5% | 4.3% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 132,475 | 130,909 | 134,972 | 1.2% | -1.9% |
| Nissan | 131,357 | 133,351 | 132,475 | -1.5% | -0.8% |
| VW/Audi | 46,677 | 51,126 | 47,122 | -8.7% | -0.9% |
| Industry | 1,533,508 | 1,573,590 | 1,517,536 | -2.5% | 1.1% |
Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 14.6 million vehicles in August, with fleet transactions accounting for 14.7 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.3 million used cars will be sold in August, for a SAAR of 39.0 million (compared to 3.4 million — or a SAAR of 38.9 million — used car sales in July).
| Market Share |
August 2016 Forecast |
August 2015 |
July 2016 |
Change from August 2015 |
Change from July 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 16.6% | 17.2% | 17.6% | -0.6% | -1.0% |
| Toyota | 14.2% | 14.3% | 14.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Ford | 13.8% | 14.9% | 14.2% | -1.1% | -0.4% |
| Chrysler Group | 13.2% | 12.8% | 11.9% | 0.4% | 1.3% |
| Honda | 10.4% | 9.9% | 10.1% | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 8.6% | 8.3% | 8.9% | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| Nissan | 8.6% | 8.5% | 8.7% | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| VW/Audi | 3.0% | 3.2% | 3.1% | -0.2% | -0.1% |
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 millions of visitors each month. With Edmunds 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 help@edmunds.com 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.
