SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Car sales deferred and created by Hurricane Sandy helped to get the auto industry back on track in November, reports Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive information. Edmunds.com forecasts that 1,107,378 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in November for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 15.0 million, a strong increase over October’s SAAR of 14.3 million.
“The fact that November sales have bounced back from a sluggish October suggests that those who lost cars or who deferred purchases after Hurricane Sandy are already getting back on the road,” says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “Fortunately for these buyers, they entered a market in which holiday and year-end deals were in full swing and loan rates hovered near all-time lows.”
SALES VOLUME FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER
|
Sales Volume  |
November 2012 Forecast |
November 2011 |
October 2012 |
Change from November 2011 |
Change from October 2012 |
| GM |
190,236 |
180,402 |
195,764 |
5.5% |
-2.8% |
| Ford |
171,887 |
166,865 |
168,456 |
3.0% |
2.0% |
| Toyota |
162,250 |
137,960 |
155,242 |
17.6% |
4.5% |
| Chrysler Group |
120,965 |
107,172 |
126,185 |
12.9% |
-4.1% |
| Honda |
112,354 |
83,925 |
106,973 |
33.9% |
5.0% |
| Nissan |
88,573 |
85,182 |
79,685 |
4.0% |
11.2% |
| Industry |
1,107,378 |
994,619 |
1,092,057 |
11.3% |
1.4% |
*NOTE: November 2012 had 25 selling days, November 2011 had 25 and October 2012 had 26.
As Edmunds.com reported earlier this month, the hurricane affected a region of the country that accounts for about 20 percent of all new car sales, and as a result about 30,000 sales were either lost or deferred in October. In addition, 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles were damaged or destroyed by Sandy, of which Edmunds.com estimates 65,000 to 80,000 will be replaced with new cars or trucks.
Edmunds.com estimates that November’s sales will be a 1.4 percent increase from October 2012, and an 11.3 percent increase from November 2011. Retail SAAR will come in at 12.6 million vehicles in November, with fleet transactions accounting for 15.9 percent of total sales. An estimated 2.79 million used cars will be sold in November, for a SAAR of 37.7 million (compared to 3.07 million – or a SAAR of 36.8 million – used car sales in October).
AUTOMAKER PERFORMANCE
Edmunds.com projects that GM and Chrysler will lose the most market share month-over-month among the Big Six manufacturers in November, losing 0.7 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively. Nissan is expected to enjoy the biggest gain, with a 0.7 percentage point increase over October, thanks to the continued success of the new Nissan Altima.
MARKET SHARE FORECAST, BY MANUFACTURER
|
Market Share |
November 2012 Forecast |
November 2011 |
October 2012 |
Change from November 2011 |
Change from October 2012 |
| GM |
17.2% |
18.1% |
17.9% |
-1.0% |
-0.7% |
| Ford |
15.5% |
16.8% |
15.4% |
-1.3% |
0.1% |
| Toyota |
14.7% |
13.9% |
14.2% |
0.8% |
0.4% |
| Chrysler Group |
10.9% |
10.8% |
11.6% |
0.1% |
-0.6% |
| Honda |
10.1% |
8.4% |
9.8% |
1.7% |
0.4% |
| Nissan |
8.0% |
8.6% |
7.3% |
-0.6% |
0.7% |
More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in Edmunds.com’s Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/
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.