Barbeques aren’t the only thing heating up this weekend as new-car sales are expected to rise almost 30% this month, with the help of the long weekend and holiday sales. Though compared to some pretty weak results last year, both Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds.com foresee the biggest sales gain in more than a year.
As you may recall, this time last year Japanese Manufacturers like Honda and Toyota were struggling with the effects of an earthquake and tsunami. This year, however, Toyota is expected to double sales compared to the same time last year and Honda is expected to enjoy a 50% sales gain.
U.S. light-vehicle demand totaled 1,061,841 in May of 2011, down 4% from the previous year. The expected sales of 1,378,000 vehicles in May 2012 would bring the SAAR to 14.2 million vehicles, matching January for the lowest pace of the year, Kelley Blue Book said. However, that would be the fifth consecutive month at a pace above 14 million, and well above the 11.7 million rate in May 2011.
