Contact: Michael Cooperman
(818) 427-8294/(805) 898-8510
[email protected]
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
SANTA MONICA, Calif., (February 24, 2014) – 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.
“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:
Manufacturer
FCA
Ford
GM
Honda
Hyundai/Kia
Nissan
Toyota
Volkswagen Group
Industry
Unit Sales
February 2014
% Change vs. February
Forecast
2013
147,000
5.7%
182,000
-6.8%
211,000
-5.9%
109,000
0.9%
95,000
1.3%
113,000
13.4%
166,000
-0.2%
46,000
1.9%
1,197,000
0.5%
% Change vs. January
2014
15.6%
18.6%
23.0%
19.0%
17.3%
24.9%
13.4%
25.4%
18.5%
Manufacturer
Market Share
February 2014
Feb-13
Forecast
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%
Manufacturer
Incentive Spending
Feb. 2014
% Change vs.
Incentives
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%
$
Industry
$2,633
5.1%
3.3%
$ 3,148,314,510
117,587,446
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.
###