August car sales may fall from a year ago - Detroit Free Press
Many automakers next Tuesday may be reporting that their August sales in the U. S. fell from a year ago, but the timing of the Labor Day weekend may be a bigger factor than the recent stock market sell-off. For example, the industry's annual selling rate was 17. 3 million in August 2014, when the Labor Day weekend fell at the end of August. “While the outlook for August remains bright, we must keep an eye on the financial markets which have declined precipitously in the last few weeks on uncertainty in international markets, namely China,” said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for... Gutierrez and Kelley Blue Book see a 4% decrease for the industry with Toyota and Honda posting declines of about 10% and 8%, respectively. Those two manufacturers are more reliant on small and midsize passenger car sales, which continue to weaken while sales of full-size pickups, SUVs and crossovers continue to grow. GM also could post a drop of about 5%. Ford sales could be flat, while Fiat Chrysler could see its streak of 64 months of sales increases end, according to the Kelley estimates. Another research and car-shopping firm, TrueCar, is slightly more optimistic, forecasting a 2. 9% decrease in the number of vehicles sold, but a modest 0. 9% increase in the daily selling rate because this year August had one less selling day than... Source: www.freep.com
