Nov 24, 2008

Gas Prices and Heavy Incentives Keep Car Sales From Sinking Below October's Depths

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- November car sales improved over October's historic lows thanks to lower gas prices and high incentives.

November new vehicle sales, including fleet and retail sales, are expected to be 850,000 units, a 27.6 percent decrease from November 2007 but showing a 1.9- percent increase from last month, according to Edmunds.com's forecast.

Still, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) for the month is expected to be only about 11.5 million units.

"Sales improved slightly over October thanks to near record high incentives and perhaps a sense of relief that the presidential election is over," observed Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "Also, remarkably low gas prices motivated shoppers to seriously consider the tremendous deals available on SUVs and trucks."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors domestic nameplates is estimated to be 47.1 percent in November 2008, down from 51.1 percent in November 2007 and up slightly from 47.0 percent in October.

The domestic automakers are in the midst of scrambling to develop a viability proposal in order to earn government loans, making it more important than ever for them to demonstrate that their products are appealing to the American public.

Company by company, Edmunds.com predicts:

Chrysler will sell 94,000 units in November, down 41.7 percent compared to November 2007 and down 0.3 percent from October. This would result in a new car market share of 11 percent for Chrysler in November, down from 13.7 percent in November 2007 and down from 11.3 percent in October.

Ford will sell 119,000 units in November, down 33.1 percent compared to November 2007 and down 7.8 percent from October. This would result in a new car market share of 14 percent of new car sales in November for Ford, down from 15.1 percent in November 2007 and down from 15.5 percent in October 2008.

General Motors will sell 188,000 units in November, down 28.2 percent compared to November 2007 and up 11.2 percent from October. GM's market share is expected to be 22.1 percent of new vehicle sales in November, down slightly from 22.3 percent in November 2007 and up from 20.3 percent in October.

Honda will sell 88,000 units in November, down 20.6 percent from November 2007 and up 3 percent from October. Honda's market share is expected to be 10.4 percent in November 2008, up from 9.5 percent in November 2007 and up from 10.3 percent in October.

Nissan will sell 57,000 units in November, down 29.3 percent from November 2007 and up 0.2 percent from October. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.7 percent in November 2008, down from 6.9 percent in November 2007 and down from 6.8 percent in October.

Toyota will sell 150,000 units in November, down 24.2 percent from November 2007 and down 1.7 percent from October. Toyota's market share is expected to be 17.6 percent in November, up from 16.8 percent in November 2007 and down from 18.2 percent in October.

Change from November 2007
Chrysler
-41.7%
Ford
-33.1%
GM
-28.2%
Honda
-20.6%
Nissan
-29.3%
Toyota
-24.2%
Industry Total
-27.6%