The increase in new-vehicle retail sales in September is consistent with the expected 12 percent retail sales annual increase in 2012 from 2011, according to a monthly sales forecast developed by J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network (PIN) and LMC Automotive.
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Retail Light-Vehicle Sales
September new-vehicle retail sales are projected to come in at 952,200 units, which represents a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 11.8 million units. The forecasted selling rate in September is more than 1 million units higher than September 2011. Retail transactions are the most accurate measurement of true underlying consumer demand for new vehicles.
"Retail sales in early September were 15 percent higher than they were a year ago, which is reflective of a healthy market," said John Humphrey, senior vice president of global automotive operations at J.D. Power and Associates. "We expect retail sales to level off through the rest of the month, but still maintain a strong share of total sales."
Most major segments — with the exception of the midsize utility and large pickup segments — are expected to show year-over-year retail sales gains in September. The sub-compact conventional, compact conventional and midsize conventional segments each are expected to show retail sales growth of at least 25 percent, compared with September 2011.
