SANTA MONICA, CA — January 24, 2019 — Edmunds forecasts that 1,169,804 new carsand trucks will be sold in the U.S. in January for an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 17.2 million. This reflects a 28.1 percent decrease in sales from December 2018, but a 1.3 percent increase from January 2018.
"January's sales strength shows car shoppers are still feeling optimistic, even in the midst of the government shutdown and talk of a slowing economy," said Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds' manager of industry analysis. "But despite this positive start, January is such a slow sales month that it doesn't carry much weight when it comes to predicting the health of the auto market for the full year."
Edmunds estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 13.9 million vehicles in January 2019, with fleet transactions accounting for 19.7 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.1 million used vehicles will be sold in January 2019, for a SAAR of 39.2 million (compared to 2.7 million — or a SAAR of 39.7 million — in December).
| Sales Volume | January 2019 Forecast | January 2018 | December 2018 | Change from January 2018 | Change from December 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM* | 193,348 | 198,548 | 293,680 | -2.6% | -34.2% |
| Ford | 178,904 | 160,411 | 219,632 | 11.5% | -18.5% |
| Toyota | 162,960 | 167,052 | 220,908 | -2.4% | -26.2% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 136,690 | 132,803 | 196,520 | 2.9% | -30.4% |
| Honda | 111,135 | 104,542 | 155,115 | 6.3% | -28.4% |
| Nissan | 104,737 | 123,538 | 148,720 | -15.2% | -29.6% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 82,203 | 76,870 | 113,149 | 6.9% | -27.4% |
| VW/Audi | 36,132 | 39,255 | 54,812 | -8.0% | -34.1% |
| Tesla | 17,167 | - | - | - | - |
| Industry | 1,169,804 | 1,155,313 | 1,627,597 | 1.3% | -28.1% |
**NOTE: January 2019 had 25 selling days, January 2018 had 25 and December 2018 had 26.
| Market Share | January 2019 Forecast | January 2018 | December 2018 | Change from January 2018 | Change from December 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 16.5% | 17.2% | 18.0% | -0.7% | -1.5% |
| Ford | 15.3% | 13.9% | 13.5% | 1.4% | 1.8% |
| Toyota | 13.9% | 14.5% | 13.6% | -0.5% | 0.4% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 11.7% | 11.5% | 12.1% | 0.2% | -0.4% |
| Honda | 9.5% | 9.0% | 9.5% | 0.5% | 0.0% |
| Nissan | 9.0% | 10.7% | 9.1% | -1.7% | -0.2% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 7.0% | 6.7% | 7.0% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| VW/Audi | 3.1% | 3.4% | 3.4% | -0.3% | -0.3% |
| Tesla | 1.5% | - | - | - | - |
More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in the Edmunds Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/industry/.
About Edmunds
Edmunds guides car shoppers online from research to purchase. With in-depth reviews of every new vehicle, shopping tips from an in-house team of experts, plus a wealth of consumer and automotive market insights, Edmunds helps millions of shoppers each month select, price and buy a car with confidence. Regarded as one of America's best workplaces by Fortune and Great Place to Work, Edmunds is based in Santa Monica, California, and has a satellite office in Detroit, Michigan. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
