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A Cold January Stalls Car Sales


winter driving

SANTA MONICA, CA--Jan. 30, 2014: The relentless blast of winter weather likely kept car shoppers away from dealerships in January, says Edmunds.com. Edmunds.com forecasts that 1,036,533 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in January for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 15.6 million. The projected sales will be a 23.6 percent decrease from December 2013, and a 0.6 percent decrease from January 2013.

January's weather complications mean that sales will likely be made up in February. Fortunately, says Edmunds.com, car shoppers will find a friendly buying environment to make their big purchases.

"Even though 2013 year-end sales events have long passed, market conditions remain quite favorable for buyers," says Edmunds.com Chief Economist Lacey Plache, PhD. "In particular, interest rates, monthly lease payments, and trade-in values are all at some of the best levels expected for the foreseeable future."

SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER


Sales Volume

Jan-14 Forecast

Jan-13

Dec-13

Change from Jan 2013*

Change from Dec 2013*

GM

176,541

194,699

230,157

-9.3%

-23.3%

Ford

155,819

165,863

216,592

-6.1%

-28.1%

Toyota

151,195

157,725

190,843

-4.1%

-20.8%

Chrysler Group

128,322

117,731

161,007

9.0%

-20.3%

Honda

98,066

93,626

135,255

4.7%

-27.5%

Nissan

88,070

80,919

109,758

8.8%

-19.8%

Hyundai/Kia

82,182

80,015

96,636

2.7%

-15.0%

VW/Audi

37,620

39,074

51,028

-3.7%

-26.3%

Industry

1,036,533

1,042,530

1,356,984

-0.6%

-23.6%








*NOTE: January 2014 had 25 selling days, January 2013 had 25 and December 2013 had 25.

MARKET SHARE FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER







Market Share

Jan-14 Forecast

Jan-13

Dec-13

Change from
January 2013
(Percentage pts.)

Change from December 2013
(Percentage pts.)

GM

17.0%

18.7%

17.0%

-1.6%

0.1%

Ford

15.0%

15.9%

16.0%

-0.9%

-0.9%

Toyota

14.6%

15.1%

14.1%

-0.5%

0.5%

Chrysler Group

12.4%

11.3%

11.9%

1.1%

0.5%

Honda

9.5%

9.0%

10.0%

0.5%

-0.5%

Nissan

8.5%

7.8%

8.1%

0.7%

0.4%

Hyundai/Kia

7.9%

7.7%

7.1%

0.3%

0.8%

VW/Audi

3.6%

3.7%

3.8%

-0.1%

-0.1%