CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As the month
comes to a close and automakers gear up to report February's sales
on Monday, March 3, Jesse Toprak, chief analyst for Cars.com
announces his predications. New-vehicle sales are expected to
improve 1.1 percent year-over-year to a total of 1.2 million units
and an estimated 15.4 million seasonally adjusted annual rate
(SAAR). If confirmed, these numbers would reflect the highest sales
rate since February 2008.
"As the industry continues to gain strength, February car sales
have the potential to reach their highest rate in six years," said
Toprak. "The positive impact of the recovering stock market has
been dampened by ongoing severe weather conditions, however
year-over-year new-vehicle sales show that the industry is pushing
to surpass the mark set in 2013."
According to Toprak's analysis, the compact SUV segment is
seeing a particularly high increase in demand. "Consumers can't get
enough small SUVs," said Toprak. "The segment's market share
reached a record high 18 percent this month, up from 15 percent
this time last year."
Key highlights for estimated February
2014 sales forecast:
- New light-vehicle sales in the United
States (including fleet) are expected to reach 1,205,140
units, up 1.1 percent from February 2013 and up 19.3 percent
from January 2014
- The February 2014 forecast
translates into a SAAR of 15.4 million new car sales, up 0.5
percent from February 2013 and up 1.0
percent over January 2014
- Retail sales are expected to account for 79.3 percent in
February 2014, down 4.2 percent from
February 2013
Automotive sales forecasts for February
2014 for the 'Big Eight' manufacturers:
Unit Sales
Manufacturer
|
February 2014
Sales Forecast
|
YoY
|
MoM
|
Chrysler
Group
|
146,842
|
5.6%
|
15.5%
|
Ford
|
181,040
|
-7.3%
|
17.9%
|
GM
|
214,126
|
-4.5%
|
24.9%
|
Honda
|
110,805
|
2.6%
|
20.9%
|
Hyundai/Kia
|
92,263
|
-1.7%
|
13.9%
|
Nissan
|
107,685
|
8.1%
|
19.0%
|
Toyota
|
169,565
|
1.9%
|
15.9%
|
Volkswagen
|
38,208
|
-15.4%
|
3.5%
|
Industry
Total
|
1,205,140
|
1.1%
|
19.3%
|
Market Share
Manufacturer
|
February 2014
Sales Forecast
|
Jan-14
|
Feb-13
|
Chrysler
Group
|
12.2%
|
12.6%
|
11.7%
|
Ford
|
15.0%
|
15.2%
|
16.4%
|
GM
|
17.8%
|
17.0%
|
18.8%
|
Honda
|
9.2%
|
9.1%
|
9.1%
|
Hyundai/Kia
|
7.7%
|
8.0%
|
7.9%
|
Nissan
|
8.9%
|
9.0%
|
8.4%
|
Toyota
|
14.1%
|
14.5%
|
14.0%
|
Volkswagen
|
3.2%
|
3.7%
|
3.8%
|
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SOURCE Cars.com