Edmunds.com Forecasts January Auto Sales: Domestics Suffer Decline as Compacts Thrive

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Jan. 2, 20066, 2006--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.07 million units, a two percent increase from January 2005 and a 27.3 percent decrease from December 2005, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information.

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 54.4 percent in January, down from 57.0 percent in January 2005 and from 55.1 percent in December 2005.

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 143,000 units in January, down three percent compared to January 2005 and down 24 percent compared to December 2005. This would result in a new car market share of 13.3 percent for Chrysler in January, down from 14.0 percent in January 2005 but up from 12.8 percent in December.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 181,000 units in January, down eight percent compared to January 2005 and down 26 percent compared to December 2005. This would result in a market share of 16.8 percent of new car sales in January for Ford, down from 18.5 percent in January 2005 but up from 16.4 percent in December.

Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 261,000 units in January, down five percent compared to January 2005 and 32 percent compared to December 2005. GM's market share is expected to be 24.3 percent of new vehicle sales in January, down from 26.0 percent in January 2005 and from 25.8 percent in December.

"This month, compact cars and compact SUVs are selling particularly well, while sales of trucks, luxury cars and large cars are suffering," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com.

"That, along with the seasonal dip, accounts for the domestics' substantial decline in unit sales from December to January."

According to Edmunds.com, Honda is predicted to sell 96,000 units this month, up 18 percent compared with January 2005 but down 27 percent compared with December 2005. Its market share is expected to remain unchanged at 9.0 percent in January, but down from 7.7 percent in January 2005.

According to Edmunds.com, Nissan is predicted to sell 77,000 units in January, up about one percent compared to January 2005 but down 16 percent from December 2005. Nissan's market share is expected to be 7.2 percent, unchanged from January 2005 but up from 6.2 percent in December.

Toyota is expected to sell 164,000 units, up about 16 percent compared to January 2005 but down 19 percent compared to December 2005. Toyota's market share is expected to rise from 13.7 percent in December to 15.3 percent in January, but down from 13.3 percent in January 2005.

About Edmunds.com, Inc.

Edmunds.com is the premier online resource for automotive information. Its comprehensive set of data, tools and services, including Edmunds.com True Market Value(R) pricing, is generated by Edmunds.com Information Solutions and is licensed to third parties. The company supplies content for the auto sections of NYTimes.com, AOL, CNN.com and About.com, provides weekly data to Automotive News, and delivers monthly data reports to Wall Street analysts. Edmunds.com also publishes Inside Line (www.insideline.com), a free online magazine for auto enthusiasts. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), and was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.