Compact SUVs Expected to Conquest March Auto Sales, Says Edmunds.com
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — March 26, 2015 — Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shopping, forecasts that 1,522,881 new cars and trucks will be sold in the U.S. in March for an estimated Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 16.9 million. The projected sales will be a 21.3 percent increase from February 2015, and a 0.8 percent decrease from March 2014.
"In March, car shoppers were quite drawn to compact SUVs, continuing a recent trend," says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell, whose team focused on this in a new Key Insights report entitled "Conquesting the Market" which can be found at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-center/. "Compact SUVs have earned record market share in 2015 but the popularity of these vehicles has not generated incremental sales. This trend is having an adverse affect on midsize and compact car sales. Those segments’ market shares are at an eight year low so far this year."
| Sales Volume | March 2015 Forecast | March 2014 | February 2015 | Change from March 2014 | Change from February 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 252,563 | 256,047 | 231,379 | -1.4% | 9.2% |
| Ford | 230,339 | 243,417 | 179,671 | -5.4% | 28.2% |
| Toyota | 224,303 | 215,348 | 180,467 | 4.2% | 24.3% |
| Chrysler Group | 200,059 | 194,915 | 163,587 | 2.6% | 22.3% |
| Nissan | 141,057 | 149,136 | 118,436 | -5.4% | 19.1% |
| Honda | 128,829 | 133,318 | 105,466 | -3.4% | 22.2% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 116,887 | 121,782 | 96,535 | -4.0% | 21.1% |
| VW/Audi | 47,446 | 50,963 | 37,165 | -6.9% | 27.7% |
| Industry | 1,522,881 | 1,535,131 | 1,255,485 | -0.8% | 21.3% |
*NOTE: March 2015 had 25 selling days, March 2014 had 26 and February 2015 had 24.
Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 13.5 million vehicles in March, with fleet transactions accounting for 20.4 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.5 million used cars will be sold in March, for a SAAR of 35.5 million (compared to 3.2 million — or a SAAR of 35.7 million — used car sales in February.)
| Market Share | March 2015 Forecast | March 2014 | February 2015 | Change from March 2014 | Change from February 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | 16.6% | 16.7% | 18.4% | -0.1% | -1.8% |
| Ford | 15.1% | 15.9% | 14.3% | -0.7% | 0.8% |
| Toyota | 14.7% | 14.0% | 14.4% | 0.7% | 0.4% |
| Chrysler Group | 13.1% | 12.7% | 13.0% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Nissan | 9.3% | 9.7% | 9.4% | -0.5% | -0.2% |
| Honda | 8.5% | 8.7% | 8.4% | -0.2% | 0.1% |
| Hyundai/Kia | 7.7% | 7.9% | 7.7% | -0.3% | 0.0% |
| VW/Audi | 3.1% | 3.3% | 3.0% | -0.2% | 0.2% |
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. Car shoppers can browse not only inventory listings at Edmunds.com and on its acclaimed apps, but also comprehensive car reviews, shopping tips, photos, videos and feature stories. Named by Maritz Research as one of the most trusted online consumer review sites — and the only automotive site listed in the top ten — Edmunds.com welcomes all car-shopping questions at our Help Center and on Twitter and Facebook. Based in Santa Monica with a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Edmunds.com can also be found on Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and Flipboard.
