Edmunds.com Forecasts March Will Deliver Biggest Sales Month in Almost Five Years
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — March 28, 2013 — Edmunds.com, the premier resource for car shopping and automotive information, forecasts that 1,478,208 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in March for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 15.6 million light vehicles. Edmunds.com expects March to be the biggest single month since 1,555,945 new cars and trucks were sold in May 2007. It is also the fifth consecutive month to register a SAAR above 15 million light vehicles. The projected sales will be a 24.0 percent increase from February 2013, and a 5.3 percent increase from March 2012.
"As long as the auto industry continues this string of 15-plus million SAAR every month, there won't be any shortage of optimism," says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. "We're not quite back to pre-recession levels, but the industry is getting closer to a full recovery every month."
| Sales Volume | March 2013 Forecast | March 2012 | February 2013 | Change from March 2012* | Change from February 2013* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 251,444 | 231,052 | 224,314 | 8.8% | 12.1% |
| Ford | 231,844 | 223,262 | 195,310 | 3.8% | 18.7% |
| Toyota | 204,782 | 203,282 | 166,377 | 0.7% | 23.1% |
| Chrysler Group | 173,007 | 163,381 | 139,014 | 5.9% | 24.5% |
| Honda | 138,204 | 126,999 | 107,987 | 8.8% | 28.0% |
| Nissan | 139,693 | 135,939 | 99,636 | 2.8% | 40.2% |
| Industry | 1,478,208 | 1,403,909 | 1,191,904 | 5.3% | 24.0% |
Edmunds.com estimates that Retail SAAR will come in at 12.4 million vehicles in March, with fleet transactions accounting for 20.4 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.44 million used cars will be sold in March, for a SAAR of 36.6 million (compared to 3.36 million — or a SAAR of 37.4 million — used car sales in February).
AUTOMAKER PERFORMANCE
Edmunds.com predicts that General Motors will show the biggest month-to-month declines, falling from 18.8% of all U.S. auto sales in February to 17.0 percent in March. Disappearing truck incentives from February are a big reason for the sharp decline. Nissan, meanwhile, is expected to enjoy the biggest market share bump in March, climbing 1.1 percentage points to 9.5% of all U.S. auto sales. It's anticipated to be Nissan's biggest single-month market share since March of last year.
| Market Share | Mar-13 Forecast | Mar-12 | Feb-13 | Change from March 2012 (Percentage pts.) | Change from February 2013 (Percentage pts.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 17.0% | 16.5% | 18.8% | 0.6% | -1.8% |
| Ford | 15.7% | 15.9% | 16.4% | -0.2% | -0.7% |
| Toyota | 13.9% | 14.5% | 14.0% | -0.6% | -0.1% |
| Chrysler Group | 11.7% | 11.6% | 11.7% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Honda | 9.3% | 9.0% | 9.1% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Nissan | 9.5% | 9.7% | 8.4% | -0.2% | 1.1% |
More insight into recent auto industry trends canbe found in Edmunds.com's Industry Center.
About Edmunds.com
Edmunds.com is a car-shopping Web site committed to helping people find the car that meets their every need. Almost 18 million visitors use our research, shopping and buying tools every month to make an easy and informed decision on their next new or used car. Whether you're at the dealership or on the go, we're always by your side with our five-star Edmunds.com iPhone and iPad apps and our Edmunds.com Android App. Our comprehensive car reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories offer a friendly and authentic approach to the automotive world. We're based in Santa Monica, Calif., but you can connect with us from anywhere by following @Edmunds on Twitter or by becoming a fan of Edmunds.com on Facebook.
