Edmunds.com Forecasts September USA Auto Sales

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 29 -- This month's car sales are expected to reach 1.27 million units for the month, an 11 percent decrease over September 2004 (with the same number of selling days), according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information.

The combined monthly U.S. market share for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler is estimated to be 55.5 percent in September, unchanged from August.

Edmunds.com predicts that Chrysler will sell 157,000 units in September, down 7 percent compared with September 2004 and down 16 percent compared with August 2005. This would result in a new car market share of 12.4 percent for Chrysler in September, up from 11.8 percent in September 2004 but down from 12.7 percent in August.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 226,000 units in September, down 17 percent compared with September 2004 and down 14 percent compared with August 2005. This would result in a market share of 17.8 percent of new car sales in September for Ford, down from 19 percent in September 2004 and unchanged from August.

According to Edmunds.com, GM will sell 322,000 units in September, down 29 percent compared with September 2004 and down 7 percent compared with August 2005. GM's market share is expected to be 25.3 percent of new car sales in September, down from 31.7 percent in September 2004 but up from 23.5 percent in August.

"Domestic manufacturers increased incentives on remaining 2005 model year inventory and select 2006 models during the last 10 days of the month in an effort to bolster sagging sales," observed Jesse Toprak, Edmunds.com executive director of industry analysis. "This is largely due to the diminishing effectiveness of employee pricing promotions, rising gas prices and the impact of the Gulf Coast hurricanes."

This month, Honda is predicted to sell 121,000 units, up 12 percent compared with September 2004 but down 23 percent compared with August 2005. Its market share is expected to decrease from 10.6 percent in August to 9.5 percent in September.

Nissan is predicted to sell more than 85,000 units in September, up 6 percent compared to September 2004 but down 8 percent from August 2005. Nissan's market share is expected to exceed 6.7 percent -- a record high, up from 6.3 percent in August 2005.

Toyota is expected to sell 173,000 units, up 7 percent compared with September 2004 but down 16 percent compared with August 2005, resulting in a change in market share from 13.9 percent in August to 13.6 percent in September.