New Vehicle Sales Up from June, Down from Year ago

July’s new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) will have totaled 1.26 million units, a 3.3% decrease from July 2007 and a 6.3% increase from June 2008, according to estimates by Edmunds.com.

July 2008 had 26 selling days, two more than last July 2007. When adjusted for that difference, sales decreased 10.7% from July 2007, Edmunds said:

“The combined market share for compact cars, compact trucks and compact SUVs is near its all-time high,” said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. “We expect these three segments to make up around 35% of the total market in July, compared to just 23% in July of 2003.”

The combined monthly US market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 44.4% in July 2008, down from 49.4% in July 2007 and down from 46.4% in June 2008.

Other Edmunds.com estimates:

• Chrysler will have sold 117,000 units in July, down 14.8% compared with July 2007 and up 0.2% from June 2008, resulting in new-car market share of 9.3% for Chrysler in July, down from 10.6% in July 2007 and down from 9.9% in June 2008.
• Ford will have sold 176,000 units in July, down 7.4% compared with July 2007 and up 3.1% from June 2008, resulting in new-car market share of 14.0% in July, down from 14.6% in July 2007 and down slightly from 14.4% in June 2008.
• GM will have sold 266,000 units in July, down 15.7% compared with July 2007 and up 1.3% from June 2008. GM’s market share is expected to have reached 21.1% of new vehicle sales in July, down from 24.2% in July 2007 and down from 22.2% in June 2008.
• Honda will have sold 160,000 units in July, up 13.3% from July 2007 and up 12.1% from June 2008. Honda’s market share is expected to have reached 12.7% in July, up from 10.8% in July 2007 and up from 12.0% in June 2008.
• Nissan will have sold 88,000 units in July, up 0.2% from July 2007 and up 16.0% from June 2008. Nissan’s market share is expected to have reached 7.0% in July, up from 6.7% in July 2007 and up from 6.4% in June 2008.
• Toyota will have sold 217,000 units in July, down 3.3% from July 2007 and up 12.1% from June 2008. Toyota’s market share is expected to have reached 17.2% in July 2008, even from 17.2% in July 2007 and up from 16.3% in June 2008.