U.S. vehicle sales for March at more than 1.5 million will increase 21% compared to February while continuing the SUV sales expansion. The result is projected to be a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.9 million. While this is flat year-over-year when compared to march of 2014, compact SUVs continue to be sought after. However, SUVs are not resulting in incremental sales but rather hurting the sales of cars.
“Compact SUVs have earned record market share in 2015 but the popularity of these vehicles has not generated incremental sales,” says Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell. “This trend is having an adverse affect on midsize and compact car sales. Those segments’ market shares are at an eight year low so far this year.”
Edmunds.com estimates that retail SAAR will come in at 13.5 million vehicles in March, with fleet transactions accounting for 20.4 percent of total sales. An estimated 3.5 million used cars will be sold in March, for a SAAR of 35.5 million (compared to 3.2 million – or a SAAR of 35.7 million – used car sales in February.)
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
