TrueCar forecasts July vehicle sales will be down from June

(July 28, 2011) SANTA MONICA, Calif. (PRNewswire) — TrueCar.com forecast today that July light vehicle sales will be down from June and import automakers sales will rise and domestics decline.

The forecast shows the following:

    • For July 2011, new light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) is expected to be 1,041,435 units, down 0.8 percent from June 2010 and down 0.9 percent from June 2011 (on an unadjusted basis)

    • The July 2011 forecast translates into a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of 11.4 million new car sales, down from 11.5 million in June 2011 and down from 11.6 million in July 2010

    • Retail sales are down 2.4 percent compared to July 2010 and down 0.4 percent from June 2011

    • Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 17 percent of total industry sales in July 2011

    • The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,418 in July 2011, which represents an increase of 0.7 percent from June 2011 and down 15.1 percent from July 2010

    • Used car sales are estimated to be 4,052,086, up 2.3 percent from July 2010 and down 1.8 percent from June 2011. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:4 for July 2011

"Economic uncertainty continues along with the debt ceiling crisis which could have an impact on auto sales through the rest of the year if an agreement isn't announced," said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry Trends and Insights for TrueCar.com.  "With auto sales already not running at a strong rate this summer, it could be tough second half of the year for the auto industry."

Forecasts for the top seven manufacturers for July 2011:

Unit Sales Forecast

 

Manufacturer

July 2011 Forecast

% Change vs. June 2011

% Change vs. July 2010

 

Chrysler

108,702

-8.3%

16.5%

 

Ford

183,360

-5.2%

10.5%

 

GM

212,661

-1.2%

6.7%

 

Honda

84,739

1.0%

-24.6%

 

Hyundai/Kia

108,596

4.2%

21.3%

 

Nissan

76,726

6.7%

-6.8%

 

Toyota

112,824

1.7%

-33.3%

 

Industry

1,041,345

-0.9%

-0.8%