May Car Sales: Worse than Last May But Better Than April, Edmunds.com Forecast Says
May 30, 2008
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- April 2008 was a terrible month for vehicle sales in the U.S., but it looks like May, though worse than the year-ago May, might be a tad brighter than April and especially for some vehicles and some makes, Edmunds.com forecasts.
Toyota looks to be a winner with a projected record market share. Honda likely had a good month as well. The Big Three, however, are predicted to show a near-record low combined market share.
And the trend of buyers selected smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles instead of larger ones likely accelerated in May, according to Edmunds.com's forecast.
May vehicle sales, which includes both fleet and retail sales, are expected to come in at about 1.4 million units when automakers released sales report on Tuesday. That's a 7.4 percent decline from May 2007 and a 15.8 percent increase from April 2008, Edmunds.com calculates. May 2008 has 27 selling days, one more than last May 2007. When adjusted for this difference, sales decreased 10.8 percent from May 2007.
"The trend continues as consumers are moving away from larger vehicles and into smaller compact cars and hybrids," observed Jesse Toprak, Edmunds' executive director of industry analysis. "Toyota is projected to reach record market share despite the softening of the automotive market."
The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors domestic nameplates is estimated to a near record low of 47.9 percent in May 2008, down from 52.8 percent in May 2007 and down slightly from 48.4 percent in April 2008.
The seismic shift in consumer preference for small instead of large vehicles like those offered by Detroit automakers has left the Big Three in bad shape compared with the likes of Toyota and Honda.
Company-by-Company Forecast
On a company-by-company basis, Edmunds.com predicts for May:
GM will sell 300,000 units, down 19.2 percent from May 2007 and up 16.3 percent from April. GM's market share is expected to be 20.9 percent, down from 23.9 percent in May 2007 and up slightly from 20.8 percent in April 2008.
Ford will sell 227,000 units, down 9.3 percent compared with May 2007 and up 15.6 percent from April. This would result in a market share of 15.8 percent, down from 16.1 percent in May 2007 and even with April.
Chrysler will sell 163,000 units, down 18.2 percent from May 2007 and up 10.8 percent from April 2008. That would put Chrysler's share at 11.3 percent, down from 12.8 percent in May 2007 and down from 11.8 percent in April.
Toyota will sell 261,000 units, down 3.1 percent from May 2007 and up 19.8 percent from April 2008. Toyota's market share is expected to be 18.1 percent in May 2008, up from 17.3 percent in May 2007 and up from 17.5 percent in April.
Honda will sell 156,000 units, up 7.2 percent from May 2007 and up 15.2 percent from April. Honda's market share is expected to be 10.8 percent, up from 9.3 percent in May 2007 and down slightly from 10.9 percent in April.
Nissan will sell 97,000 units, up 3.8 percent from May 2007 and up 27.3 percent from April. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.7 percent, up from 6.0 percent in May 2007 and up from 6.1 percent in April 2008.
|
|
Change from May 2007 (Adjusted for more selling days) |
Change from May 2007 (Unadjusted for more selling days) |
|
Chrysler |
-21.2% |
-18.2% |
|
Ford |
-12.7% |
-9.3% |
|
GM |
-22.2% |
-19.2% |
|
Honda |
3.2% |
7.2% |
|
Nissan |
-0.1% |
3.8% |
|
Toyota |
-6.7% |
-3.1% |
|
Industry Total |
-10.8% |
-7.4% |
Source: Edmunds.com
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:48 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Featured , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
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