(Updated with data from Edmunds.com, in the second and sixth
through eighth paragraphs.)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
J.D. Power & Associates said new-vehicle retail sales so far
in June have risen "notably" from May, showing signs of "tempered
but continued recovery in the market."
Edmunds.com noted that, while it is projecting total sales to be
down 25% from last year and down 3.9% from May, the seasonally
adjusted annual selling rate will get back above 10 million
vehicles for the first time this year. Prior to January 2009, the
figure hadn't fallen under that figure since 1982.
Auto sales have stopped falling to new lows in the U.S. so far
this year, but the plateaued annual rate of about nine million
units is far below the rates of recent years, which averaged 16
million vehicles.
J.D. Power said it expects retail sales for June to come in at
about 789,000 units, down 9% from a year earlier but up 14% from
May. It said fleet sales have declined from May.
"Consumer confidence is improving, and market uncertainty is
starting to decline, which has made consumers more willing to take
advantage of deals on new vehicles," said Gary Dilts, senior vice
president of global automotive operations at J.D. Power. "In
addition, sales incentives - including those from Chrysler dealers
facing closure - have helped contribute to the upstream."
Edmunds.com reported that it expects new-vehicle sales,
including fleet sales, to be 887,000 units. Honda Motor Co. (HMC)
is projected to post the biggest year-over-year drop at 34%,
followed by Chrysler LLC and Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), with 32%
declines. If the projections are accurate, Ford Motor Co. (F) would
outsell Toyota in the U.S. for the third-consecutive month.
Hyundai Motor Co. (HYMLY) received the lowest forecasted decline
by Edmunds at 18%.
Edmunds also projected the combined monthly U.S. market share
for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ) at 47% in June,
up fractionally from 46.6% a year earlier and 46.5% in May.
Meanwhile, J.D. Power expressed skepticism about the expected
introduction of a U.S. government "Cash for Clunkers" program,
which would provide financial incentives to encourage owners of
older vehicles to upgrade to newer, more fuel-efficient ones. "It
remains to be seen if the passage of [the] Cash for Clunkers
program will be enough to draw consumers to showrooms and spark
sales," said Jeff Schuster, J.D. Power's executive director of
global forecasting.
-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089;
kerry.grace@dowjones.com