May is Best Month for Car Sales in Years

May 26, 2012May 24, 2012

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By TrueCar.com:

TrueCar.com, the authority on new car pricing, trends and forecasting, today released its May 2012 sales and incentives forecast. The forecast shows the following:

For May 2012, new light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) is expected to be 1,400,665 units, up 32 percent from May 2011 and up 18.3 percent from April 2012 (on an unadjusted basis)
The May 2012 forecast translates into a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (SAAR) of 14.5 million new car sales, up from 11.7 million in May 2011 and flat from 14.5 million in April 2012
Retail sales are up 29.4 percent compared to May 2011 and up 21.1 percent from April 2012
Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 21.0 percent of total industry sales in May 2012
The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,392 in May 2012, which represents an increase of 4.0 percent from May 2011 and decrease of 2.0 percent from April 2012
Used car sales* are estimated to be 4,387,554, up 6.3 percent from May 2011 and up 15.7 percent from April 2012. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:3 for May 2012

“Pent up demand continues to fuel auto sales at a steady and sustainable level in May” said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Market Intelligence for TrueCar.com. “All major manufacturers will see double digit growth this month; Toyota’s recovery stemming from the natural disasters has happened at a breakneck pace and sales this month for Toyota will be the highest we have seen in a few years led by strong sales of the Camry and Prius along with strong sales from GM, which will be the highest since September 2008.

Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1cH3z)