Many Americans are still talking about the likely effects of an extended recession, but at least one account is showing that some areas of the U.S. economy seem to be bouncing back. The firm TrueCar is an established authority on automotive industry data. This company uses real-time information from thousands of dealers across the country to come up with details on trends within the current auto industry in North America. Now, TrueCar is forecasting strong sales for September 2011, especially in the new car market.
According to a new report from TrueCar on September 27, new car sales for September are expected to be up 10% from last year and a couple of percentage points from August. The firm uses something called a seasonally adjusted annualized rate that reveals about one million additional units sold this month compared to August sales. Retail sales are up, and fleet and rental sales are also part of this rosy forecast. TrueCar expects used car sales to be up about 4% from last year but down slightly from August.
One big part of this picture, according to TrueCar researchers, is that big Japanese producers Honda and Toyota are apparently getting back on their feet. TrueCar reports that these makers have “increased levels of inventory” that allow them to move more new cars in a shorter amount of time. Another part of vibrant sales for September might be some of the great deals we’ve been reporting on as auto makers offered year-end sales over Labor Day weekend. As 2012 model started to roll onto U.S. lots, customers were getting bargains on some of the outgoing 2011 vehicles. This could have accounted for some of the increased sales as consumers snapped up deals this month.
The TrueCar report also contains a survey of market share by auto maker. TrueCar forecasts September market share for seven big manufacturers compared to August numbers. The biggest seller, General Motors, experienced a slight decline of about 1%. Ford stayed relatively even, and Chrysler lost a few percentage points. Foreign auto makers Nissan and Hyundai/Kia remained constant, while Toyota gained a few tenths of a percent. The big gainer was Honda, with over 2% added to its forecasted market share for September.
The kinds of reports provided by TrueCar can help car buyers understand what’s going on in the market and help them form a unique strategy for when and how to buy. Keep looking at these helpful consumer reports to get more fully informed about this important sector of the American economy.
