New-Vehicle Retail Sales Decline Industry-Wide

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 20 March 2006 — New-vehicle retail sales were down 13 percent in the first 12 days of March when compared to a similar time period a year ago, according to the Power Information Network (PIN), the industry’s premier source for real-time automotive retail sales information. Mid-month results are derived from actual retail transaction data collected by PIN and do not include fleet sales. Retail transactions are the most accurate measurement of true underlying consumer demand for new vehicles.

With an 8 percent increase in retail sales versus a year ago, BMW was the only multi-franchise automaker to experience a gain in retail sales in early March. Retail sales at American Honda were flat when compared to a year ago, and deliveries at the remaining seven manufacturers all experienced a decline. The range of retail sales loss varied significantly among the seven manufacturers, with Volkswagen experiencing a 2 percent decline and General Motors down by 20 percent. Deliveries at Toyota Motor Corp. decreased by 9 percent, while the remaining manufacturers, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor, Hyundai and Nissan Motor, all experienced declines in the double-digits.

At the segment level, full size cars were the only segment to experience a year-over-year sales increase (up 6% when compared to a year ago). In contrast, all three light truck segments – SUVs, pickups and vans – had double-digit sales declines and lost market share.

With regard to share of the retail new-vehicle market, GM led the industry with 21.3 percent in early March, (down from 23% a year ago). Toyota followed with 16.8 percent of the retail new-vehicle market, (up from 16.0%) and Ford declined to 16.3 percent, (down from 17.6% a year ago). Honda captured 11.6 percent of all retail transactions in early March, (up from 10% versus a year ago) and Nissan increased to 8.1 percent, (up from 8.0%). BMW also gained retail share, while Hyundai experienced a slight decline.

“Toyota, Honda and BMW continue to do well at the retail level,” said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at PIN. “GM and Ford need to stop their retail share deterioration, and GM hopes their ‘March Madness’ campaign will help do that.”

The industry continues to move away from incentives, with total customer cash incentives (including subvented interest rates) down 23 percent year-over-year. The percentage of transactions with a cash rebate was also down by 3 percent in early March. However, this trend is not likely to continue for the remainder of the month as General Motors recently launched a new “March Madness” incentive program.

“So far through the first quarter we’re pretty much on track with where we were last year, which turned out to be the third best selling year in history,” said Bob Schnorbus, chief economist of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. “However, it’s still difficult to know if the big incentives that were implemented last year and pushed some monthly sales to near record levels will return and have a significant impact on the remainder of the year.”

About Power Information Network (PIN)

PIN’s automotive solutions are based on the collection and analysis of daily new- and used-vehicle retail transaction information from more than 10,000 automotive dealership franchises in North America. PIN’s industry-leading automotive solutions incorporate consumer demand and sales information to improve business for automotive dealers, manufacturers, lenders, and other companies in the industry. Additional information is available at www.powerinfonet.com

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm’s quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 290 offices in 38 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.