August SAAR Expected to Be Highest Yet For 2012
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Edmunds.com, a resource for automotive information, forecasts that 1,287,603 new cars will be sold in August for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) this month of 14.5 million light vehicles. If the numbers hold, August will be the second best month of 2012 in terms of SAAR and the third best month in terms of unit sales.
“Sales showed signs of flattening out in the first couple months of summer, so August’s sales figures will come as a nice surprise for everyone in the auto industry,” said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “Automakers and dealers have been very creative in packaging hidden incentives in recent weeks and when you combine that with the selldown of popular 2012 model year vehicles, there have been some nice deals available to car buyers.”
Edmunds.com estimates that August’s projected sales will be an 11.7 percent increase from July 2012, and a 20.1 percent increase (unadjusted for number of selling days) from August 2011. Retail SAAR will come in at 12.0 million vehicles in August, with fleet transactions accounting for 17.0 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.1 million used cars will be sold in August, for a SAAR of 36.9 million (compared to 3.2 million – or a SAAR of 36.3 million – used car sales in July).
Edmunds.com projects that the top automakers will see little shift in market share in August. GM is expected to have the most growth (+0.6 percentage points) from July to August, while Nissan will slide the most (-0.5 percentage points).
More Industry
Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers
The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.
Read More →
Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs
U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.
Read More →
Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great
A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative
A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop
Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.
Read More →
April Less Affordable
Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.
Read More →
Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency
Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.
Read More →
Recipe for Compliance
The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.
Read More →
EVs Getting More Attractive
A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.
Read More →
EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge
North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.
Read More →