Despite Rising Gas Prices, February Auto Sales Strong at Estimated 15.5 Million SAAR, says Edmunds.com

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive information, forecasts that 1,198,538 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in February for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) this month of 15.5 million light vehicles. The projected sales will be a 14.9 percent increase from January 2013, and a 4.3 percent increase from February 2012.

“Pent-up demand and widespread access to credit are keeping up car sales momentum.”

“Car sales are persevering despite economic factors on people’s minds like rising gas prices and the implementation of the payroll tax,” says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “Pent-up demand and widespread access to credit are keeping up car sales momentum.”

SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER
Sales Volume	February 2013 Forecast	February 2012	January 2013	Change from February 2012*	Change from January 2013*
GM	218,986	209,306	194,699	4.6%	12.5%
Ford	206,553	178,644	165,863	15.6%	24.5%
Toyota	167,405	159,423	157,725	5.0%	6.1%
Chrysler Group	143,680	133,521	117,731	7.6%	22.0%
Honda	106,367	110,157	93,626	-3.4%	13.6%
Nissan	102,580	106,731	80,919	-3.9%	26.8%
Industry	1,198,538	1,148,848	1,042,530	4.3%	15.0%
*NOTE: February 2013 had 24 selling days, February 2012 had 25 and January 2013 had 25.

Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 12.4 million vehicles in February, with fleet transactions accounting for 20.3 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.35 million used cars will be sold in February, for a SAAR of 37.2 million (compared to 3.12 million – or a SAAR of 38.7 million – used car sales in January).

MARKET SHARE FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER
Market Share	February 2013 Forecast	February 2012	January 2013	Change from February 2012	Change from January 2013
GM	18.3%	18.2%	18.7%	0.1%	-0.4%
Ford	17.2%	15.5%	15.9%	1.7%	1.3%
Toyota	14.0%	13.9%	15.1%	0.1%	-1.2%
Chrysler Group	12.0%	11.6%	11.3%	0.4%	0.7%
Honda	8.9%	9.6%	9.0%	-0.7%	-0.1%
Nissan	8.6%	9.3%	7.8%	-0.7%	0.8%

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

For more economic analysis, please see http://www.edmunds.com/about/authors/lacey-plache.html.

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.