Auto sales expect best year since since 2008, says TrueCar
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The auto industry is expected to wrap up a year of slow but steady recovery with the most vehicle sales since 2008.
More than 12.8 million cars and trucks were sold in 2011, the highest volume since the 13.2 million that were sold in 2008, according to price-tracking website TrueCar.com this week.
That’s 1.2 million more than last year but less than the 13.8 million vehicles TrueCar predicts will be sold next year as the economy improves.
In December, new-car sales will be up 8.1% from the same period in 2010 and 24.4% up from November on an unadjusted basis, according to TrueCar. Used-car sales will also be up.
Hyundai and Kia will sell 39.9% more cars in December than in the same month last year while Chrysler will see a 33.8% bump in year-over-year sales, according to TrueCar.
Honda sales this month are expected to be down nearly 16% compared to last year, while Toyota will suffer a 1.7% slip — the only automakers to see a sales slide, TrueCar forecasted.
GM will claim the most market share, with 18.9%, followed by Ford’s 16.5% and Toyota’s 14.1%. Ford, Chevrolet and Toyota will be the top-selling brands.
“This year was absent of a blockbuster sales month but we see this pace of growth as healthy and sustainable in the coming year,” said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar’s vice president of industry trends and insights, in a statement.
Last week, J.D. Power and Associates also predicted strong sales, anticipating 12.7 million sales of light vehicles this year and 13.8 million for 2012, though forecasters warned that the industry would have to overcome the slow summer season to keep selling momentum.
Edmunds.com also released its estimates last week, saying that 2011 will end with 12.8 million sales — a 10% increase from 2010. Next year, the auto information site expects 13.6 million vehicles to be sold.
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— Tiffany Hsu
