Edmunds.com said U.S. new-vehicle sales will rise 20% in
February from a year ago, with the top six major auto makers all
expected to report higher sales, led by an expected 37% jump for
General Motors Co. (GM).
Senior analyst Jessica Caldwell said sales for the month started
slow, but "gained plenty of momentum over President's Day weekend."
She said it was also the fifth consecutive month the seasonally
adjusted annualized rate, or SAAR, topped 12 million, a positive
trend for the industry.
Broadly, the industry has benefited from improved sales of
trucks and other large vehicles, a trend that has continued for
months. The pickup in new-vehicle sales comes after the industry
suffered mightily during the financial crisis, although the annual
sales pace is still off from what was considered normal prior to
the last few years.
The car-shopping website estimated that February's SAAR for
total auto sales in the U.S. would be 12.64 million, up from 12.54
million in January. The month's sales are expected to be about
937,000 units, up 14% from January.
Caldwell said GM is expected to maintain the highest market
share, but also leads the other six major auto makers in incentive
spending "by a healthy margin." Earlier this month, Edmunds
estimated GM spent 29% more on incentives in January than a year
ago and said that increase suggests new model year vehicles "are
more heavily discounted than one might expect."
February sales are expected to jump 29% for Toyota Motor Corp.
(TM, 7203.TO), 27% for Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY, 7201.TO) and 16%
for Honda Motor Co. (HMC, 7267.TO) from year-ago levels.
A year ago, only Toyota reported weaker February sales, down
8.7%, stung by a recall of millions of vehicles and a temporary
sales and production halt in early 2010. Caldwell on Thursday said
Toyota's market share has fallen "to its lowest level since its
issues with unintended acceleration reached its peak this time last
year." She added Toyota "can't start rolling out their new products
fast enough."
Detroit auto makers Ford Motor Co. (F) and Chrysler Group LLC
are expected to post more modest single-digit increases in
February.
Edmunds also estimated that average auto incentives in the U.S.
were $2,530 per vehicle sold in February, down 1.2% from January
and 4.8% lower than a year ago.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480;
john.kell@dowjones.com