SANTA MONICA, Calif. — This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.42 million units, a 4.5 percent decrease from August 2006 and an 8.7 percent increase from July 2007, according to Edmunds.com, an online resource for automotive information.

"Early in August, sales were dismal. To generate showroom traffic, most automakers introduced incentives programs midway through the month," observed Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. "That effort was relatively successful, but the uncertainty in the housing market is likely to continue suppressing consumer demand for new vehicles for some time."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 49.6 percent in August 2007, down from 53.5 percent in August 2006 but up slightly from 49.4 percent in July 2007.

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 163,000 units in August 2007, Ford will sell 211,000 and GM will sell 330,000, down 9.2 percent, 15.6 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively, from the same month last year.

Predictions for Honda, Nissan and Toyota are more optimistic. Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 160,000 units, Nissan will sell 93,000 and Toyota will sell 245,000, up 5.6 percent, 3 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, from August 2006.

All predicted sales are increases from those of July.

0 Comments