Edmunds.com Forecasts February Auto Sales: Industry Up Ten Percent Compared to January

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Feb. 23, 2006--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.26 million units, a one percent increase from February 2005 and a 10.7 percent increase from January 2006, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information. This amounts to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 16.38 million units.

"February sales are typically much more robust than January's, but some may be surprised that this month even exceeded last February's sales," said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "We attribute this in part to dramatically renewed consumer interest in compact vehicles."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 57.3 percent in February, down slightly from 57.6 percent in February 2005 but up from 55.6 percent in January 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 174,000 units in February, down six percent compared to February 2005 but up 12 percent compared to January 2006. This would result in a new car market share of 13.8 percent for Chrysler in February, down from 14.9 percent in February 2005 but up from 13.6 percent in January 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 228,000 units in February, down eight percent compared to February 2005 but up 21 percent compared to January 2006. This would result in a market share of 18.0 percent of new car sales in February for Ford, down from 19.8 percent in February 2005 but up from 16.5 percent in January 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 321,000 units in February, up nearly six percent compared to February 2005 and up ten percent compared to January 2006. GM's market share is expected to be 25.5 percent of new vehicle sales in February, up from 24.4 percent in February 2005 and unchanged from January 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 111,000 units in February, up 13 percent compared with both February 2005 and January 2006. Its market share is expected to be 8.8 percent in February, up from 7.8 percent in February 2005 and 8.6 percent in January 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 82,000 units in February, down about one percent compared to February 2005 but up eight percent from January 2006. Nissan's market share is expected to be 6.5 percent, down from 6.6 percent in February 2005 and 6.7 percent in January 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 175,000 units in February, up about seven percent compared to February 2005 and up nine percent compared to January 2006. Toyota's market share is expected to be 13.9 percent in February, down from 14.1 percent in January but up from 13.1 percent in February 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), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated number one in Keynote's study of third-party automotive web sites. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.