Automakers Will Ride a Wave of Consumer Confidence to Solid Sales in January, Edmunds Forecasts
SANTA MONICA, CA — January 25, 2017 — Edmunds, the leading car shopping and information platform, forecasts that 1,153,459 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in January, for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 17.7 million. This reflects a 31.5 percent decrease in sales from December 2016, and a 0.7 percent decrease from January 2016.
"January had the potential of being a very slow month at dealerships, given the fact that auto sales shattered records in December," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds executive director of industry analysis. "But January is shaping up to be a surprisingly healthy month. The economy continues to show signs of strength and consumers are feeling confident, boosting auto sales above initial expectations."
| Sales Volume |
January 2017 Forecast |
January 2016 |
December 2016 |
Change from January 2016 |
Change from December 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 206,136 | 203,745 | 319,108 | 1.2% | -35.4% |
| Ford | 168,963 | 172,478 | 237,785 | -2.0% | -28.9% |
| Toyota | 163,106 | 161,283 | 243,229 | 1.1% | -32.9% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 145,172 | 171,352 | 192,519 | -15.3% | -24.6% |
| Nissan | 108,275 | 105,734 | 152,743 | 2.4% | -29.1% |
| Honda | 107,099 | 100,497 | 160,477 | 6.6% | -33.3% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 82,624 | 83,316 | 116,658 | -0.8% | -29.2% |
| VW/Audi | 39,420 | 31,929 | 60,424 | 23.5% | -34.8% |
| Industry | 1,153,459 | 1,161,304 | 1,683,533 | -0.7% | -31.5% |
Edmunds estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 14.6 million vehicles in January 2017, with fleet transactions accounting for 17.3 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.1 million used vehicles will be sold in January 2017, for a SAAR of 38.4 million (compared to 2.6 million — or a SAAR of 38.2 million — in December).
| Market Share |
December 2016 Forecast |
December 2015 |
November 2016 |
Change from December 2015 |
Change from November 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 17.9% | 17.5% | 19.0% | 0.3% | -1.1% |
| Ford | 14.6% | 14.9% | 14.1% | -0.2% | 0.5% |
| Toyota | 14.1% | 13.9% | 14.4% | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 12.6% | 14.8% | 11.4% | -2.2% | 1.2% |
| Nissan | 9.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| Honda | 9.3% | 8.7% | 9.5% | 0.6% | -0.2% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 7.2% | 7.2% | 6.9% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| VW/Audi | 3.4% | 2.7% | 3.6% | 0.7% | -0.2% |
More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in Edmunds.com's Industry Center at https://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/.
About Edmunds
Edmunds is the leading car information and shopping platform, helping millions of visitors each month find their perfect car. With products like Edmunds Your Price, Your Lease and Used+, shoppers can buy smarter with instant, upfront prices for cars and trucks currently for sale at more than 13,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Edmunds' in-house team of unbiased car shopping experts provide industry-leading vehicle reviews and shopping tips, as well as welcome all car-shopping questions at our Help Center, via email at help@edmunds.com and on Twitter and Facebook. Edmunds is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich.
