February SAAR to Hit 15.4 According to TrueCar; 2014 New Vehicle Sales Expected to be up 1 Percent Year-Over-Year

Estimated incentive spending climbs above $2,600 per vehicle - highest since 2010

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Feb 25, 2014, 07:00 ET

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

New light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) are expected to be 1,197,000 units, up 0.5 percent from February 2013 and up 18.5 percent from January 2014.
Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate ("SAAR") of 15.4 million new vehicle sales is up 1.0 percent from February 2013 and up 0.6 percent over January 2014.
Share of retail sales is up 2.9 percent compared to February 2013 and down 0.7 percent from January 2014.
Fleet and rental sales are expected to make up 19.7 percent of total industry sales in February 2014.
The industry average incentive spending per unit will be approximately $2,633 in February 2014, an increase of 5.1 percent from February 2013, and an increase of 3.3 percent from January 2014.
Used car sales* are estimated to be 3,302,000. The ratio of new to used is estimated to be 1:2.8 for February 2014.

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"With February incentives hitting a three-year high and inventory levels at their peak since 2009, we expect elevated incentive spending to continue," said Larry Dominique, President of ALG and Executive Vice President of TrueCar. "March is going to be a 'must-win' month for dealers if they hope to have a successful 2014."

Forecasts for the top eight manufacturers for February 2014:

Unit Sales
Manufacturer	February 2014 Forecast	% Change vs. February 2013	% Change vs. January 2014
FCA	147,000	5.7%	15.6%
Ford	182,000	-6.8%	18.6%
GM	211,000	-5.9%	23.0%
Honda	109,000	0.9%	19.0%
Hyundai/Kia	95,000	1.3%	17.3%
Nissan	113,000	13.4%	24.9%
Toyota	166,000	-0.2%	13.4%
Volkswagen Group	46,000	1.9%	25.4%
Industry	1,197,000	0.5%	18.5%


Market Share
Manufacturer	February 2014 Forecast	Feb-13	Jan-14
FCA	12.3%	11.7%	12.6%
Ford	15.2%	16.4%	15.2%
GM	17.6%	18.8%	17.0%
Honda	9.1%	9.1%	9.1%
Hyundai/Kia	7.9%	7.9%	8.0%
Nissan	9.4%	8.4%	9.0%
Toyota	13.9%	14.0%	14.5%
Volkswagen Group	3.8%	3.8%	3.6%


Incentive Spending
Manufacturer	Feb. 2014 Incentives	% Change vs. Feb. 2013	% Change vs. Jan. 2014	Total Spending
FCA	$3,012	-10.1%	3.0%	$ 442,747,322
Ford	$3,305	15.6%	2.2%	$ 601,580,035
GM	$3,204	-5.1%	1.4%	$ 676,022,736
Honda	$2,043	45.9%	4.4%	$ 222,708,357
Hyundai/Kia	$1,978	35.5%	2.0%	$ 187,870,737
Nissan	$2,613	2.8%	3.5%	$ 297,249,669
Toyota	$1,915	22.7%	3.2%	$ 317,897,527
Volkswagen Group	$2,581	28.0%	4.6%	$ 117,587,446
Industry	$2,633	5.1%	3.3%	$ 3,148,314,510

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.

SOURCE TrueCar