TrueCar says new vehicle sales continue to sizzle in July

(July 25, 2014) SANTA MONICA — TrueCar, Inc. today released its July 2014 sales and incentives forecast, which shows that new light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) are expected to reach 1,444,000 units, up 9.9 percent from July 2013 and up 1.8 percent from June 2014.
   
TrueCar predicts the highest July sales since 2006 with a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate ("SAAR") of 16.7 million new vehicle sales, up 6.8 percent from July 2013.

  TrueCar also predicts:

    • Share of retail (non-fleet) sales is expected to be down 1.1 percent compared to July 2013 and up 4.5 percent from June 2014.

    • Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 12.8 percent of total industry sales in July 2014.

    • The industry average incentive spending per unit is expected to be approximately $2,731 in July 2014, an increase of 7.1 percent from July 2013 and a decrease of 0.6 percent from June 2014.

    • Used car sales, including sales from franchise dealerships, independent dealerships and private party sales, are estimated to be 3,308,844. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:2.3 for July 2014.

"July sales are red hot and better than expected, with our forecast up about 10 percent over last year," said John Krafcik, president of TrueCar. "While some of the growth is powered by incentive spending up $200 per vehicle, we are seeing continued strong demand for trucks and utility vehicles."

Forecasts for the top nine manufacturers for July 2014: