Auto Sales Continue to Soar in September Despite Volkswagen Crisis, Forecasts Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — September 24, 2015 — Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shopping, forecasts that 1,415,436 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in September for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 17.8 million. The projected sales will be a 10.1 percent decrease from August 2015, but a 13.9 percent increase from September 2014. This will make this month's sales volume the biggest September since 2004, and the sales rate will be the biggest September SAAR since 2000.
The month's impressive sales come as Volkswagen continues to deal with its highly-publicized crisis in which it admitted to using a "cheat device" to pass EPA emissions tests for many of its iconic diesel-powered vehicles. The crisis has had very little impact on consumer confidence in the overall industry, even as it proves to be a self-inflicted wound for the German automaker. In fact, Edmunds projects that Volkswagen/Audi will be the only major manufacturer to post year-over-year sales losses (-2.0 percent) in September.
"Volkswagen's deception is dominating headlines, but it is not keeping shoppers away from other brands' showrooms," says Edmunds.com Director of Industry Analysis Jessica Caldwell. "It puts the crisis in a little bit of perspective, since these Volkswagen diesels don't constitute a very big share of sales. It's also a reminder that buyers won't disappear from the market just because they suddenly can't or don't want to buy these affected cars. They're willing to turn to other automakers that will meet their needs."
| Sales Volume | September 2015 Forecast | September 2014 | August 2015 | Change from September 2014 | Change from August 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 239,603 | 223,437 | 270,480 | 7.2% | -11.4% |
| Ford | 218,921 | 179,518 | 233,880 | 21.9% | -6.4% |
| Toyota | 194,515 | 167,279 | 224,381 | 16.3% | -13.3% |
| FCA | 194,423 | 169,890 | 201,672 | 14.4% | -3.6% |
| Honda | 134,155 | 118,223 | 155,491 | 13.5% | -13.7% |
| Nissan | 118,117 | 102,955 | 133,351 | 14.7% | -11.4% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 114,894 | 96,638 | 130,909 | 18.9% | -12.2% |
| VW/Audi | 40,110 | 40,913 | 51,126 | -2.0% | -21.5% |
| Industry | 1,415,436 | 1,242,527 | 1,573,590 | 13.9% | -10.1% |
Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 15.2 million vehicles in September, with fleet transactions accounting for 14.8 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.01 million used cars will be sold in September, for a SAAR of 37.5 million (compared to 3.21 million - or a SAAR of 36.7 million - used car sales in August).
| Market Share | September 2015 Forecast | September 2014 | August 2015 | Change from September 2014 | Change from August 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 16.9% | 18.0% | 17.2% | -1.1% | -0.3% |
| Ford | 15.5% | 14.4% | 14.9% | 1.0% | 0.6% |
| Toyota | 13.7% | 13.5% | 14.3% | 0.3% | -0.5% |
| FCA | 13.7% | 13.7% | 12.8% | 0.1% | 0.9% |
| Honda | 9.5% | 9.5% | 9.9% | 0.0% | -0.4% |
| Nissan | 8.3% | 8.3% | 8.5% | 0.1% | -0.1% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 8.1% | 7.8% | 8.3% | 0.3% | -0.2% |
| VW/Audi | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.2% | -0.5% | -0.4% |
More insight into recent auto industry trends can be found in Edmunds.com's Industry Center at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/.
About Edmunds.com
Car-shopping website Edmunds.com serves nearly 18 million visitors each month. With Edmunds.com Price Promise®, shoppers can get an instant, upfront price for cars and trucks currently for sale at 10,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Shoppers can browse not only dealer inventory, but also vehicle reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories on both Edmunds' wired site and on its acclaimed mobile apps. Regarded as one of the best places to work in Southern California, Edmunds.com was also named one of "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2015 in Automotive" by Fast Company. Edmunds welcomes all car-shopping questions at our Help Center and on Twitter and Facebook. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif. and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Mich., but you can find Edmunds from anywhere on YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard.
