New-Car Sales to Jump 11.6 Percent Year-Over-Year in July

Nissan to Regain Market Share; Luxury Vehicles Responsible for Nearly a Quarter of Industry's Growth in 2014

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Jul 25, 2014, 05:00 ET

IRVINE, Calif., July 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- New-vehicle sales are expected to increase 11.6 percent year-over-year to a total of 1.46 million units, resulting in an estimated 16.6 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry.

"Following last month's record SAAR since July 2006, sales should slow slightly, but remain strong overall in July," said Alec Gutierrez, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. "Sales in the first half of the year totaled 8.15 million, an increase of 4.2 percent from last year. In the second quarter, sales hit 4.41 million, which is the second-best quarter since 2006."

New-car sales increases are expected to continue into the second half of the year, for a full year total of 16.3 million, which would be a 4.9 percent improvement from 2013.

Key Highlights for Estimated July 2014 Sales Forecast:

In July, new light-vehicle sales, including fleet, are expected to hit 1,465,000 units, up 11.6 percent from July 2013 and up 3.3 percent from June 2014.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for July 2014 is estimated to be 16.6 million, up from 15.7 million in July 2013 and down from 16.9 million in June 2014.
Retail sales are expected to account for 88 percent of volume in July 2014.

Chrysler Group Poised for Greatest Gains in July; Nissan North America to Regain Market Share
Most manufacturers are poised for a successful month, with Chrysler Group coming out on top with more than 20 percent growth this month. Once again, the Jeep and RAM brands will drive the group's strength, but the recently redesigned Chrysler 200 also should offer a boost to the automaker in July.

"Nissan North America also is gaining market share this month with an anticipated increase of 14.6 percent," said Gutierrez. "So far this year, Nissan has increased sales of its three biggest sellers, Altima, Rogue and Sentra, by 18 percent. This is especially impressive considering overall industry sales of compact and mid-size cars have slowed this year."

	Sales Volume ¹			Market Share ²
Manufacturer	Jul-14	Jul-13	YOY %	Jul-14	Jul-13	YOY %
General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC)	259,000	234,071	10.7%	17.7%	17.8%	-0.1%
Toyota Motor Company (Lexus, Scion, Toyota)	213,000	193,394	10.1%	14.5%	14.7%	-0.2%
Ford Motor Company (Ford, Lincoln)	210,000	193,080	8.8%	14.3%	14.7%	-0.4%
Chrysler Group (Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Jeep, RAM)	172,000	140,102	22.8%	11.7%	10.7%	1.1%
American Honda (Acura, Honda)	151,000	141,439	6.8%	10.3%	10.8%	-0.5%
Hyundai-Kia	126,000	115,009	9.6%	8.6%	8.8%	-0.2%
Nissan North America (Infiniti, Nissan)	125,000	109,041	14.6%	8.5%	8.3%	0.2%
Volkswagen Group (Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche)	54,000	52,663	2.5%	3.7%	4.0%	-0.3%
Total ³	1,465,000	1,312,991	11.6%	-	-	-
¹Historical data from OEM sales announcements
² Kelley Blue Book Automotive Insights
³ Includes brands not shown

Luxury Vehicles Responsible for Nearly a Quarter of Industry's Growth in 2014
While most vehicle segments will increase sales in July, Kelley Blue Book expects the compact and mid-size car segments to continue to lose market share. In fact, non-luxury car sales, which consist of nearly 40 percent of the market, are down 1.5 percent, due to the increasing popularity of small and mid-size SUV/crossovers.

"In addition to increasing small SUV sales, luxury utility sales also are on the rise climbing 14 percent this year, helping improve overall luxury sales by 8.6 percent," said Gutierrez. "While Kelley Blue Book doesn't expect big luxury segment shifts in July, it is noteworthy that luxury vehicles are responsible for nearly a quarter of the industry's growth in 2014."

	Sales Volume ¹			Market Share
Segment	Jul-14	Jul-13	YOY %	Jul-14	Jul-13	YOY %
Compact Car	221,000	205,182	7.7%	15.1%	15.6%	-0.5%
Mid-Size Car	205,000	192,486	6.5%	14.0%	14.7%	-0.7%
Compact SUV/Crossover	178,000	155,717	14.3%	12.2%	11.9%	0.3%
Full-Size Pickup Truck	174,000	163,091	6.7%	11.9%	12.4%	-0.5%
Entry-level Luxury Car	69,000	63,538	8.6%	4.7%	4.8%	-0.1%
Total ²	1,465,000	1,312,991	11.6%	-	-	-
¹ Kelley Blue Book Automotive Insights
² Includes segments not shown

There are 26 sales days in July 2014, compared to 25 sales days in July 2013. All percentages are based on raw volume, not daily selling rate.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb, and get updates on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+kbb.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In and Suggested Retail Values, and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new cars this week. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com ranked highest in its category for brand equity by the 2014 Harris Poll EquiTrend^® study and has been named Online Auto Shopping Brand of the Year for three consecutive years. Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. is a Cox Automotive company.

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SOURCE Kelley Blue Book