J.D. Power: August new vehicle sales will be highest in seven years

(August 23, 2013) WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — New-vehicle sales continue the hot streak that has been trending throughout the summer selling season, with no evidence of the pace slowing, according to a monthly sales forecast developed jointly by the Power Information Network (PIN) from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive.

New-vehicle retail sales in August 2013 are projected to come in at 1,270,400 units, a 12 percent increase from August 2012 and the highest monthly sales volume since 2006.

The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) in August is expected to be 13.1 million units, marking the first time the selling rate has been above 13 million units for three consecutive months since the first quarter of 2007. Retail transactions are the most accurate measure of true underlying consumer demand for new vehicles.

J.D. Power expects consumer spending on new vehicles in August will approach $36 billion, which is the highest level on record.

"The industry as a whole continues to experience a robust improvement in demand, and our forecast for August is looking to be the best month for retail sales that we've seen in the past seven years," said John Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power.

"Moreover, this strong selling environment is occurring when consumers are spending more on new vehicles than any month on record, which is a further indication of the underlying strength of the sector."

With consistency in the fleet environment, total light-vehicle sales in August 2013 are also expected to increase by 12 percent from August 2012 to 1,495,400. Fleet sales are expected to account for 15 percent of total sales, with volume of 225,000 units.

PIN and LMC data show total sales reaching a 16 million unit SAAR in August, which is the highest since November 2007, with actual unit sales the highest since May 2007.