Jan. 24, 2011 — January sales of new vehicles are expected to be up 23 percent from a year ago, according to a recent report from J.D. Power and Associates.
The report predicts retail sales of 632,100 units for the month, which is based on real-time transaction data collected from more than 8,900 retail franchises throughout the U.S. The estimate represents a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 10 million units—2 million units higher than January of last year.
“While the January selling rate reflects a decline from the strong rate in December, the month of January typically experiences a much more pronounced pullback in sales,” said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. “For three of the past four months, sales have been above a 10-million-unit SAAR, and buyers have returned to showrooms without the crutch of high incentives. This signals stability and strength of natural demand.”
Retail transactions are the most accurate measurement of consumer demand for new vehicles, the report states. Cick here for the full report.
