With just a few days left in July, estimates are starting to surface for the month’s auto sales.
Auto information provider Edmunds.com predicts that 1,328,397 new cars and trucks will be sold this month, bringing the SAAR to 15.8 million. That sales approximation is a 5.3% drop from the previous month’s 1.4 million units, but a 15.2% year-over-year rise. Edmunds also predicts that this month will be the highest performing July since carmakers sold 1,489,359 units in 2006.
“Overall sales are undoubtedly strong, but what makes July truly impressive is that fleet sales are so low,” Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell said in a statement. “That means retail sales are stepping up as the driving force for the auto industry.”
Edmunds’ projects that 14% of July sales will be comprised of fleet transactions, which would be the lowest percentage year to date.
Additionally, Edmunds anticipates used-car sales hitting 3.18 million units this month, for a SAAR of 36.2 million; last month’s used-car sales were 3.07 million for a SAAR of 37.1 million. Edmunds also expects that Toyota will best Ford in total sales for the month for the first time since March 2010.
On the heels of such a strong month, it’ll be interesting to see how July matches up.
