Edmunds.com Forecasts June Auto Sales: Imports Gaining Market Share Halfway Through 2006

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--June 28, 2006--This month's new vehicle sales (including fleet sales) are expected to be 1.54 million units, an eight percent decrease from June 2005 and a four percent increase from May 2006, according to Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information. This amounts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 17.2 million units.

"It looks like the industry is down about two percent during the first half of 2006 compared with the same period last year," said Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "The market share continues to shift: sales are down around eight percent in the first half of 2006 for domestic automakers while the Japanese automakers' sales are up around seven percent."

The combined monthly U.S. market share for Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) domestic nameplates is estimated to be 55.5 percent in June, down from 63.1 percent in June 2005 but up from 54.0 percent in May 2006.

"Last summer, the domestics enjoyed great success because of the employee discount program," remarked Toprak. "They haven't yet found the silver bullet for 2006, but they sure could use it."

Edmunds.com predicts Chrysler will sell 205,000 units in June, down seven percent compared to June 2005 but up eight percent from May 2006. This would result in a new car market share of 13.3 percent for Chrysler in June, up from 13.2 percent in June 2005 and up from 12.8 percent in May 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Ford will sell 274,000 units in June, down nearly four percent compared to June 2005 and unchanged from May 2006. This would result in a market share of 17.8 percent of new car sales in June for Ford, up from 17.0 percent in June 2005 but down from 18.5 percent in May 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts GM will sell 376,000 units in June, down nearly 32 percent compared to June 2005 -- when the employee discount program brought the company record sales -- but up 11 percent from May 2006. GM's market share is expected to be 24.4 percent of new vehicle sales in June, down from 33.0 percent in June 2005 but up from 22.8 percent in May 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Honda will sell 141,000 units in June, up about 12 percent from June 2005 and down nearly one percent from May 2006. Its market share is expected to be 9.2 percent in June, up from 7.6 percent in June 2005 but down from 9.6 percent in May 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Nissan will sell 90,000 units in June, down three percent from June 2005 but up four percent from May 2006. Nissan's market share is expected to be 5.9 percent, up from 5.5 percent in June 2005 and unchanged from May 2006.

Edmunds.com predicts Toyota will sell 231,000 units in June, up 19 percent from June 2005 but down two percent from May 2006. Toyota's market share is expected to be 15.0 percent in June, up from 11.6 percent in June 2005 but down from 15.9 percent in May.

About Edmunds.com, Inc.

Edmunds.com is the premier online resource for automotive information. Its comprehensive set of data, tools and services, including the industry's largest collection of automotive photographs and online videos, is generated by Edmunds.com Information Solutions and is licensed to third parties and used by over 15,000 cars dealers including 98 of the 100 dealers named to the Ward's Dealer Business "e-Dealer 100" list. Perhaps the most popular consumer product, Edmunds.com True Market Value(R) pricing, is relied upon by millions of people seeking market-reflective valuations for new and used vehicles. The company also 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. In addition, Edmunds.com publishes Inside Line (www.insideline.com), a free high-speed online magazine for auto enthusiasts, and CarSpace (www.carspace.com), an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. 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 No. 1 in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.