Compact SUVs expected to conquest March auto sales says Edmunds

(March 27, 2015) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com forecasts that 1,522,881 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in March for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 16.9 million. The projected sales will be a 21.3 percent increase from February, but a 0.8 percent decrease from March 2014.

"In March, car shoppers were quite drawn to compact SUVs, continuing a recent trend," says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell, whose team focused on this in a new Key Insights report entitled "Conquesting the Market."

"Compact SUVs have earned record market share in 2015 but the popularity of these vehicles has not generated incremental sales. This trend is having an adverse affect on midsize and compact car sales. Those segments’ market shares are at an eight year low so far this year."

Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 13.5 million vehicles in March, with fleet transactions accounting for 20.4 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.5 million used cars will be sold in March, for a SAAR of 35.5 million (compared to 3.2 million — or a SAAR of 35.7 million — used car sales in February.)