TrueCar: April new car sales expected to be up almost 11 percent

TrueCar.com, the authority on new car pricing information, trends and forecasting, released its April 2013 sales and incentives forecast. The forecast shows the following: • For April 2013, new light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) is expected to be 1,305,901 units, up 10.7 percent from April 2012 and down 9.8 percent from March 2013 (on an unadjusted basis). • The April 2013 forecast translates into a Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate (“SAAR”) of 15.2 million new car sales, flat from March 2013 and up from 14.1 million in April 2012. • Retail sales are up 4.2 percent compared to April 2012 and up 20.2 percent from March 2013. • Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 21.7 percent of total industry sales in April 2013. • The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,466 in April 2013, which represents an increase of 0.9 percent from April 2012 and is down 5.3 percent from March 2013. • Used car sales* are estimated to be 2,944,141. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:2 for April 2013. “New car sales continued their stable year-over-year growth curve in April, with improved consumer demand propelling the sales rate above 15 million units for the sixth month in a row,” says Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for TrueCar.com. “Relatively lower gas prices coupled with small business demand improving for trucks resulted in a strong showing for small and large pickups in April, a trend we expect to see strengthen even further for the rest of 2013.”

“Automakers were able to increase sales this month while keeping incentive spending relatively flat thanks to more favorable market conditions,” says Kristen Andersson, analyst for TrueCar.com. “Toyota experienced the largest drop bringing their incentive spending levels to the lowest in almost two years."

TrueCar.com bases its forecast on actual transaction data. The transaction data based forecast is refined by other current and historical factors that impact vehicle sales, including sales, inventory, incentives, fuel prices, and macro economic data (major stock market indexes, consumer confidence, new home starts and CPI).

TrueCar.com does not adjust for selling days in year-over-year percentage change calculations.


About TrueCar, Inc.
TrueCar, Inc., headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas, is an automotive pricing information and analysis company that creates a better buying experience for dealers and consumers. As an online publisher of unbiased new and used car transaction data, TrueCar.com provides price reports that empower dealers and consumers to agree on the parameters of a fair deal by supplying a transparent, simple understanding of what others recently paid for similarly-equipped new cars in their geographic area. TrueCar also owns ALG, the benchmark for vehicle value information in the auto industry and has been forecasting residual values for nearly 50 years in the U.S. and Canadian markets.

TrueCar is a data-driven company that sources, compiles and analyzes car-buying information unlike anybody in the industry. Since its founding in 2005, TrueCar dealer partners have sold over 700,000 vehicles across the country. Its national network of nearly 6,000 Certified Dealers is committed to provide no-hassle pricing for some of the country’s largest membership and service organizations, including American Express, AAA, USAA and Consumer Reports that collectively represent more than one million monthly in-market customers.

You can follow TrueCar on Twitter (@TrueCar) and become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook and Google+.

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