August Sales: No Light At the End of the Tunnel
August 28, 2008
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Despite a slight improvement in sales from July to August, no significant upturn is on the horizon for this year, according to Edmunds.com's latest forecast.
New vehicle sales for August, to be reported by manufacturers on Wednesday, are expected to total 1.26 million units, a 14.4-percent decrease from August 2007 but an 11.4-percent increase from July 2008. "We saw a slight improvement in July, but don't expect to see a major recovery for the remainder of the year," said Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com's executive director of Industry Analysis.
he combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors domestic nameplates is estimated to be 45.1 percent in August 2008, down from 52.1 percent in August 2007 but up from 43.2 percent in July 2008.
GM got a bit of a boost from its national incentive program. "This month, General Motors sales would have been down at least 30 percent if it hadn't launched their Employee Discount for Everyone promotion," said Toprak. "But overall the program has not been nearly as effective as its first implementation back in 2005."
What also is yet to be seen is the full impact of Chrysler's decision to stop leasing through Chrysler Financial as of Aug. 1. It may well have an affect on sales, especially since the Dodge Ram historically has a high percentage of leases and the new model hits the market this fall.
Edmunds.com forecasts the following August sales and market share numbers for the Big 6 as follows:
Chrysler will sell 111,000 units in August 2008, down 34.0 percent compared to August 2007 but up 13.5 percent from July 2008. This would result in a new car market share of 8.8 percent for Chrysler in August 2008, down from 11.4 percent in August 2007 but up from 8.6 percent in July 2008.
Ford will sell 178,000 units in August 2008, down 16.3 percent compared to August 2007 but up 12.9 percent from July 2008. This would result in a new car market share of 14.1 percent of new car sales in August 2008 for Ford, down from 14.4 percent in August 2007 but up slightly from 13.9 percent in July 2008.
GM will sell 280,000 units in August 2008, down 27.5 percent compared to August 2007 but up 19.9 percent from July 2008. GM's market share is expected to be 22.2 percent of new vehicle sales in August 2008, down from 26.2 percent in August 2007 but up from 20.6 percent in July 2008.
Honda will sell 160,000 units in August 2008, up 0.9 percent from August 2007 and 15.1 percent from July 2008. Honda's market share is expected to be 12.7 percent in August 2008, up from 10.8 percent in August 2007 and 12.3 percent in July 2008.
Nissan will sell 98,000 units in August 2008, up 2.3 percent from August 2007 and 2.5 percent from July 2008. Nissan's market share is expected to be 7.8 percent in August 2008, up from 6.5 percent in August 2007 but down from 8.4 percent in July 2008.
Toyota will sell 217,000 units in August 2008, down 7.2 percent from August 2007 but up 9.7 percent from July 2008. Toyota's market share is expected to be 17.2 percent in August 2008, up from 15.9 percent in August 2007 but down from 17.4 percent in July 2008.
| Forecasted Sales Percentage Change August 2008 from August 2007 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Change from August 2007 |
| Chrysler | -34.0% |
| Ford | -16.3% |
| GM | -27.5% |
| Honda | 0.9% |
| Nissan | 2.3% |
| Toyota | -7.2% |
| Industry Total | -14.4% |
Source: Edmunds.com
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 9:48 AM under Analysis , Chrysler , Companies , Ford , GM , Toyota | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
Honda marches on. Yet again they outperform Toyota (even with a more limited range of vehicles). What is Toyota doing wrong out of the Japanese makes?
Posted by: guy1974 | August 28, 2008 at 10:16 AM
'What is Toyota doing wrong out of the Japanese makes?'
What they did "wrong" was enter the full-size truck and SUV with the Tundra/Seqouia.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with that decision when they made that decision. They had no idea that gas would be $3.50 a gallon in the U.S. back in 2003...
Posted by: thriftytechie | August 28, 2008 at 12:56 PM