September Car Sales Soft, But Some Automakers Weather It
September 27, 2007

New vehicle sales in September are expected to be 1.29 million units (retail and fleet), a 4.5 percent decrease from September 2006, according to Edmunds.com’s forecast.

"This month, the automakers with the most momentum are faring well even given the constraints of the marketplace," observed Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. "Especially in a soft market like this, compelling new products and effective marketing campaigns are the keys to success."

Honda, which just launched the Accord accompanied by a significant advertising campaign, is the only one of the six major automakers predicted to show a sales increase, on both an unadjusted and adjusted basis. This September had 25 selling days, one less than September 2006. When adjusted for this difference, sales decreased 0.7 percent from September 2006.

Chrysler, Ford and Toyota are forecasted to show decreases on an adjusted and unadjusted basis.

General Motors is expected to be flat on an adjusted basis and down on an unadjusted basis. Nissan is predicted to be up on an adjusted basis and down unadjusted.

Company by Company Rundown

Edmunds.com predicts the follow sales by company:

Chrysler will sell 152,000 units in September 2007, down 10.3 percent compared to September 2006 and down 9.9 percent from August 2007. This would result in a new car market share of 11.8 percent for Chrysler in September 2007, down from 12.5 percent in September 2006 and up slightly from 11.4 percent in August 2007.

Ford will sell 192,000 units in September 2007, down 17.7 percent compared to September 2006 and down 9.6 percent from August 2007. This would result in a market share of 14.9 percent of new car sales in September 2007 for Ford, down from 17.3 percent in September 2006 and up from 14.4 percent in August 2007.

GM will sell 325,000 units in September 2007, down 3.1 percent compared to September 2006 and down 16.0 percent from August 2007. GM's market share is expected to be 25.2 percent of new vehicle sales in September 2007, up from 24.8 percent in September 2006 and down from 26.2 percent in August 2007.

Edmunds.com forecasts the following sales (using unadjusted numbers) by company:

Honda will sell 130,000 units in September 2007, up 11.8 percent from September 2006 but down 17.9 percent from August 2007. Its market share is expected to be 10.1 percent in September 2007, up from 8.6 percent in September 2006 and down from 10.8 percent in August 2007.

Nissan will sell 87,000 units in September 2007, down 1.7 percent from September 2006 and down 9.1 percent from August 2007. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.7 percent in September 2007, up slightly from 6.5 percent in September 2006 and up slightly from 6.5 percent in August 2007.

Toyota will sell 214,000 units in September 2007, down 4.2 percent from September 2006 and down 8.5 percent from August 2007. Toyota's market share is expected to be 16.6 percent in September 2007, up slightly from 16.5 percent in September 2006 and up from at 15.9 percent from August 2007.

Toyota’s lower year-over-year sales decline for the third month in a row was expected. Toyota couldn’t possibly keep up the dramatic momentum it had been enjoying. Even the company this week was signaling lower sales in September.

                                                                                               

Company by Company Rundown
	Change from September 2006 (Adjusted for less selling days)	Change from September 2006 (Unadjusted for less selling days)
Chrysler	-6.7%	-10.3%
Ford	-14.4%	-17.7%
GM	0.8%	-3.1%
Honda	16.3%	11.8%
Nissan	2.3%	-1.7%
Toyota	-0.4%	-4.2%
Industry Total	-0.7%	-4.5%

Source: Edmunds.com

Posted by Michelle Krebs at 11:24 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (3) | digg this | Seed Newsvine