Edmunds.com Forecasts July Auto Sales

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.26 million units, a 3.3 percent decrease from July 2007 and a 6.3 percent increase from June 2008, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information.

“The combined market share for compact cars, compact trucks and compact SUVs is near its all-time high”

July 2008 had 26 selling days, two more than last July 2007. When adjusted for this difference, sales decreased 10.7 percent from July 2007. (The chart below sets forth other unadjusted and adjusted comparisons.)

	Change from July 2007 (Adjusted for more selling days)	Change from July 2007 (Unadjusted for more selling days)
Chrysler	-21.4%	-14.8%
Ford	-14.5%	-7.4%
GM	-22.2%	-15.7%
Honda	4.6%	13.3%
Nissan	-7.5%	0.2%
Toyota	-10.8%	-3.3%
Industry Total	-10.7%	-3.3%

"The combined market share for compact cars, compact trucks and compact SUVs is near its all-time high," observed Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "We expect these three segments to make up around 35 percent of the total market in July, compared to just 23 percent in July of 2003."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 44.4 percent in July 2008, down from 49.4 percent in July 2007 and down from 46.4 percent in June 2008.

"Recent headlines regarding downgraded annual sales forecasts, adjustments in production schedules and boosts in incentives foreshadow another dismal month," commented Michelle Krebs, Senior Editor of Edmunds' AutoObserver.com.

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 117,000 units in July 2008, down 14.8 percent compared to July 2007 and up 0.2 percent from June 2008. This would result in a new car market share of 9.3 percent for Chrysler in July 2008, down from 10.6 percent in July 2007 and down from 9.9 percent in June 2008.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 176,000 units in July 2008, down 7.4 percent compared to July 2007 and up 3.1 percent from June 2008. This would result in a new car market share of 14.0 percent of new car sales in July 2008 for Ford, down from 14.6 percent in July 2007 and down slightly from 14.4 percent in June 2008.

Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 266,000 units in July 2008, down 15.7 percent compared to July 2007 and up 1.3 percent from June 2008. GM's market share is expected to be 21.1 percent of new vehicle sales in July 2008, down from 24.2 percent in July 2007 and down from 22.2 percent in June 2008.

Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 160,000 units in July 2008, up 13.3 percent from July 2007 and up 12.1 percent from June 2008. Honda’s market share is expected to be 12.7 percent in July 2008, up from 10.8 percent in July 2007 and up from 12.0 percent in June 2008.

Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 88,000 units in July 2008, up 0.2 percent from July 2007 and up 16.0 percent from June 2008. Nissan's market share is expected to be 7.0 percent in July 2008, up from 6.7 percent in July 2007 and up from 6.4 percent in June 2008.

Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 217,000 units in July 2008, down 3.3 percent from July 2007 and up 12.1 percent from June 2008. Toyota's market share is expected to be 17.2 percent in July 2008, even from 17.2 percent in July 2007 and up from 16.3 percent in June 2008.

About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)

Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value^®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site and home to the oldest and most established automotive community. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.