Car Sales Rose in February Despite Higher Gas Prices and Winter Storms, says Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — February 26, 2015 — Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shopping, forecasts that 1,285,019 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in February for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 16.6 million. The projected sales will be an 11.8 percent increase from January 2015, and a 7.9 percent increase from February 2014.
"Gas prices inched back up this month, but it didn't appear to have much impact on shoppers' choices. We're still seeing a strong market for trucks and SUVs -- especially compact crossover SUVs, which continue to ride an impressive wave of popularity.," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "It is likely that the hard-hitting winter weather motivated some buyers to upgrade from their two-wheel drive vehicles."
| Sales Volume | February 2015 Forecast | February 2014 | January 2015 | Change from February 2014 | Change from January 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 230,019 | 222,104 | 202,786 | 3.6% | 13.4% |
| Ford | 192,866 | 183,349 | 177,441 | 5.2% | 8.7% |
| Toyota | 184,841 | 159,284 | 169,194 | 16.0% | 9.2% |
| Chrysler Group | 167,613 | 154,866 | 145,007 | 8.2% | 15.6% |
| Nissan | 123,664 | 115,360 | 104,107 | 7.2% | 18.8% |
| Honda | 111,780 | 100,405 | 102,134 | 11.3% | 9.4% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 97,507 | 90,221 | 82,804 | 8.1% | 17.8% |
| VW/Audi | 37,155 | 37,993 | 34,864 | -2.2% | 6.6% |
| Industry | 1,285,019 | 1,191,083 | 1,149,037 | 7.9% | 11.8% |
Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 13.4 million vehicles in February, with fleet transactions accounting for 19.3 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.2 million used cars will be sold in February, for a SAAR of 35.7 million (compared to 2.95 million — or a SAAR of 36.3 million — used car sales in January).
| Market Share | February 2015 Forecast | February 2014 | January 2015 | Change from February 2014 | Change from January 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 17.9% | 18.6% | 17.6% | -0.7% | 0.3% |
| Ford | 15.0% | 15.4% | 15.4% | -0.4% | -0.4% |
| Toyota | 14.4% | 13.4% | 14.7% | 1.0% | -0.3% |
| Chrysler Group | 13.0% | 13.0% | 12.6% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| Nissan | 9.6% | 9.7% | 9.1% | -0.1% | 0.6% |
| Honda | 8.7% | 8.4% | 8.9% | 0.3% | -0.2% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 7.6% | 7.6% | 7.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| VW/Audi | 2.9% | 3.2% | 3.0% | -0.3% | -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 website Edmunds 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. Car shoppers can browse not only inventory listings at Edmunds.com and on its acclaimed apps, but also comprehensive car reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories. Named by Maritz Research as one of the most trusted online consumer review sites — and the only automotive site listed in the top ten — Edmunds.com welcomes all car-shopping questions at our Help Center and on Twitter and Facebook. Based in Santa Monica with a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Edmunds.com can also be found on Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Google+ and Flipboard.
