April SAAR to Hit 16.2 Million Vehicles, According to TrueCar; 2014 New Vehicle Sales Expected to be up 8 Percent Year-Over-Year

Estimated incentive spending hits $2,750 per vehicle

News provided by

Apr 25, 2014, 07:00 ET

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TrueCar, the negotiation-free car-buying platform, today released its April 2014 sales and incentives forecast, which shows the following:

New light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) are expected to reach 1,382,000 units, up 7.5 percent from April 2013 and down 10.0 percent from March 2014.
Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate ("SAAR") of 16.2 million new vehicle sales is up 9.2 percent from April 2013 and down 0.5 percent over March 2014.
Share of retail sales is expected to be up 2.2 percent compared to April 2013 and up 2.8 percent from March 2014.
Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 16.9 percent of total industry sales in April 2014.
The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,751 in April 2014, an increase of 8.9 percent from April 2013 and an increase of 1.0 percent from March 2014.
Used car sales* are estimated to be 3,404,000. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:2.5 for April 2014.

"Automakers were determined to make sure March sales momentum continued in April, putting sales back on track for 2014," said Larry Dominique, President of ALG and Executive Vice President of TrueCar. "This month, the Asian manufacturers turned up the incentive dial, while the Domestic manufacturers remained more restrained."

Forecasts for the top eight manufacturers for April 2014:

Unit Sales
Manufacturer	April 2014 Forecast	% Change vs. April 2013	% Change vs. March 2014
Chrysler	180,000	14.9%	-7.2%
Ford	211,000	-0.5%	-13.3%
GM	253,000	6.5%	-1.2%
Honda	141,000	7.6%	5.8%
Hyundai/Kia	113,000	1.9%	-7.2%
Nissan	100,000	13.8%	-32.9%
Toyota	200,000	13.5%	-7.1%
Volkswagen Group	48,000	-5.6%	-12.4%
Industry	1,382,000	7.5%	-10.0%

Market Share
Manufacturer	April 2014 Forecast	Apr-13	Mar-14
Chrysler	13.0%	12.2%	12.6%
Ford	15.3%	16.5%	15.9%
GM	18.3%	18.5%	16.7%
Honda	10.2%	10.2%	8.7%
Hyundai/Kia	8.2%	8.6%	7.9%
Nissan	7.2%	6.8%	9.7%
Toyota	14.5%	13.7%	14.0%
Volkswagen Group	3.5%	4.0%	3.6%

Incentive Spending
Manufacturer	Apr. 2014 Incentives	% Change vs. Apr. 2013	% Change vs. Mar. 2014	Total Spending
Chrysler	$3,260	-1.6%	1.5%	$ 586,819,366
Ford	$3,212	9.9%	-3.9%	$ 677,708,554
GM	$3,562	-2.0%	4.7%	$ 901,216,371
Honda	$2,120	32.2%	0.4%	$ 298,936,498
Hyundai/Kia	$2,087	51.0%	-0.3%	$ 235,882,371
Nissan	$2,763	27.6%	2.2%	$ 276,292,736
Toyota	$1,713	9.0%	-2.7%	$ 342,694,715
Volkswagen Group	$2,778	17.5%	-0.5%	$ 133,353,621
Industry	$2,751	8.9%	1.0%	$ 3,796,375,806

TrueCar 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 inventory, incentives, fuel prices and macro economic data (major stock market indexes, consumer confidence, new home starts and CPI). TrueCar does not adjust for selling days in year-over-year percentage change calculations.

*Used car sales figures include sales from franchise dealerships, independent dealerships and private party sales

About TrueCar
TrueCar is the negotiation-free car buying platform. TrueCar empowers car buyers by giving them transparent insight into what others actually paid, upfront pricing information, and a network of trusted TrueCar Certified Dealers who provide guaranteed savings certificates and seamlessly complete the car purchase. The reality is buying a car is painful and buyers fear they are going to overpay. TrueCar's transparent upfront pricing information and guaranteed savings certificate make the car buying process simple so buyers never overpay. TrueCar's mission is to prove that truth and transparency is a more profitable way of doing business -- starting with automotive. Its national network of more than 7,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers is committed to providing negotiation-free savings for some of the country's largest membership and service organizations, including AARP, American Express, AAA, USAA and Consumer Reports. Note: Not all program features are available in all states. Go to www.truecar.com for program details. TrueCar is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110118/LA31413LOGO

SOURCE TrueCar