Auto Sales Expected to Post First Year-Over-Year Sales Gain in August, Edmunds Forecasts
SANTA MONICA, CA — August 24, 2017 — Edmunds, the leading car shopping and information platform, forecasts that 1,526,613 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in August for an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 16.6 million. This reflects an 8.2 percent increase in sales from July 2017 and a 1.3 percent increase from August 2016.
"While any kind of sales lift after seven months of declines is encouraging, automakers still have a long road ahead to have a strong close to the year. It's a small step in the right direction," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds. "Inventories are still high, but automakers haven't been afraid to put cash on the hood this year, so we expect dealers will be aggressive with their Labor Day and model-year-end sales events to keep this momentum going. We're also seeing signs of discipline with fleet sales as automakers prioritize higher-margin retail sales."
| Sales Volume |
August 2017 Forecast |
August 2016 |
July 2017 |
Change from August 2016 |
Change from July 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 261,183 | 256,429 | 226,107 | 1.9% | 15.5% |
| Toyota | 237,937 | 213,125 | 222,057 | 11.6% | 7.2% |
| Ford | 208,231 | 213,411 | 199,318 | -2.4% | 4.5% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 187,472 | 196,756 | 161,477 | -4.7% | 16.1% |
| Honda | 161,381 | 149,571 | 150,980 | 7.9% | 6.9% |
| Nissan | 126,397 | 124,638 | 128,295 | 1.4% | -1.5% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 118,565 | 126,263 | 110,466 | -6.1% | 7.3% |
| VW/Audi | 52,161 | 48,648 | 45,915 | 7.2% | 13.6% |
| Industry | 1,526,613 | 1,507,313 | 1,410,601 | 1.3% | 8.2% |
Edmunds estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 14.5 million vehicles in August 2017, with fleet transactions accounting for 13.0 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.3 million used vehicles will be sold in August 2017, for a SAAR of 39.0 million (compared to 3.4 million — or a SAAR of 39.2 million — in July).
| Market Share |
August 2017 Forecast |
August 2016 |
July 2017 |
Change from August 2016 |
Change from July 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 17.1% | 17.0% | 16.0% | 0.1% | 1.1% |
| Toyota | 15.6% | 14.1% | 15.7% | 1.4% | -0.2% |
| Ford | 13.6% | 14.2% | 14.1% | -0.5% | -0.5% |
| Fiat Chrysler | 12.3% | 13.1% | 11.4% | -0.8% | 0.8% |
| Honda | 10.6% | 9.9% | 10.7% | 0.6% | -0.1% |
| Nissan | 8.3% | 8.3% | 9.1% | 0.0% | -0.8% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 7.8% | 8.4% | 7.8% | -0.6% | -0.1% |
| VW/Audi | 3.4% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in the Edmunds Industry Center at https://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/.
About Edmunds
Edmunds is the leading car information and shopping platform, helping millions of visitors each month find their perfect car. With products like Edmunds Your Price, Your Lease and Used+, shoppers can buy smarter with instant, upfront prices for cars and trucks currently for sale at more than 13,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Edmunds' in-house team of unbiased car shopping experts provide industry-leading vehicle reviews and shopping tips, as well as welcome all car-shopping questions at our Help Center, via email at help@edmunds.com and onTwitter andFacebook. The company is regarded as one ofAmerica's best workplaces by Fortune and Great Places to Work. Edmunds is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich.
