Edmunds.com Forecasts 1.36 Million New Cars Sold in December

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive information, forecasts that 1,361,899 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in December for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) this month of 15.4 million light vehicles. This would bring total 2012 sales to 14.5 million light vehicles, which would be a 13.5 percent increase over 2011, and the highest annual total since 2007.

“December will be the icing on the cake for 2012 – it’s a strong close for a year that had significant auto sales growth throughout”

“December will be the icing on the cake for 2012 – it’s a strong close for a year that had significant auto sales growth throughout,” says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “Along with the momentum of the improving economy, December car sales have been helped by compelling advertising, generous deals from most automakers, and the rush of demand unexpectedly and unfortunately caused by Hurricane Sandy.”

SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER
Sales Volume	December 2012 Forecast	December 2011	November 2012	Change from December 2011	Change from November 2012
GM	237,799	234,351	186,505	1.5%	27.5%
Ford	212,898	209,447	177,092	1.6%	20.2%
Toyota	201,502	178,131	161,695	13.1%	24.6%
Chrysler Group	148,085	138,021	122,565	7.3%	20.8%
Honda	133,621	105,230	116,580	27.0%	14.6%
Nissan	99,769	100,927	96,197	-1.1%	3.7%
Industry	1,361,899	1,242,971	1,143,207	9.6%	19.1%
*NOTE: December 2012 had 26 selling days, December 2011 had 27 and November 2012 had 25.

Edmunds.com estimates that December’s projected sales will be a 19.1 percent increase from November 2012, and a 9.6 percent increase from December 2011. Retail SAAR will come in at 13.0 million vehicles in December, with fleet transactions accounting for 15.6 percent of total sales. An estimated 2.71 million used cars will be sold in December, for a SAAR of 39.6 million (compared to 2.77 million – or a SAAR of 38.7 million – used car sales in November).

MARKET SHARE FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER
Market Share	December 2012 Forecast	December 2011	November 2012	Change from December 2011	Change from November 2012
GM	17.5%	18.9%	16.3%	-1.4%	1.1%
Ford	15.6%	16.9%	15.5%	-1.2%	0.1%
Toyota	14.8%	14.3%	14.1%	0.5%	0.7%
Chrysler Group	10.9%	11.1%	10.7%	-0.2%	0.2%
Honda	9.8%	8.5%	10.2%	1.3%	-0.4%
Nissan	7.3%	8.1%	8.4%	-0.8%	-1.1%

More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in Edmunds.com’s Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/.

About Edmunds.com, Inc.

At Edmunds.com, we’re committed to helping people find the car that meets their every need. Almost 18 million visitors use our research, shopping and buying tools every month to make an easy and informed decision on their next new or used car. Whether you’re at the dealership or on the go, we’re always by your side with our five-star Edmunds.com iPhone and iPad apps and our Edmunds.com Android App. Our comprehensive car reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories offer a friendly and authentic approach to the automotive world. We’re based in Santa Monica, Calif., but you can connect with us from anywhere by following @Edmunds on Twitter or by becoming a fan of Edmunds.com on Facebook.