SANTA MONICA, Calif. — This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.37 million units, a 3.6-percent decrease from December 2006 but a 16.8 percent increase from November 2007, according to Edmunds.com.

"Adding this forecast to the sales totals year to date, we estimate that the industry will sell approximately 16.1 million vehicles in 2007, the lowest volume since 1998,” observed Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "Given the current economic challenges and the uncertainty associated with the upcoming presidential election, we do not anticipate that 2008 will be any more robust for the car business. But, there is promise of a turnaround in 2009 when some macroeconomic factors may be very different than they are today."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 52.5 percent in December 2007, down from 52.7 percent in December 2006 and up from 51.1 percent in November 2007.

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 178,000 units in December, down 6.5 percent compared to December 2006 but up 10.7 percent from November. This would result in a new car market share of 13 percent for Chrysler in December, down from 13.4 percent in December 2006 and down from 13.7 percent in November.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 209,000 units in December, down 6.9 percent compared to December 2006 and up 17.7 percent from November. This would result in a market share of 15.3 percent of new car sales in December for Ford, down slightly from 15.8 percent in December 2006 and up slightly from 15.1 percent in November.

Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 332,000 units in December, down 0.7 percent compared to December 2006 and up 27.1 percent from November. GM's market share is expected to be 24.3 percent of new vehicle sales in December, up from 23.5 percent in December 2006 and up from 22.3 percent in November.

Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 130,000 units in December, down 1.4 percent from December 2006 and up 16.7 percent from November. Honda’s market share is expected to be 9.5 percent in December, up slightly from 9.3 percent in December 2006 and flat compared with 9.5 percent in November.

Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 91,000 units in December, down 0.8 percent from December 2006 and up 12.8 percent from November. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.6 percent in December, up from 6.4 percent in December 2006 and down slightly from 6.9 percent in November.

Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 222,000 units in December, down 2.9 percent from December 2006 and up 12.4 percent from November. Toyota's market share is expected to be 16.2 percent in December, up slightly from 16.0 percent in December 2006 and down from 16.8 percent in November.