Edmunds.com: February New-Vehicle Sales Get Positive Presidents Day Bounce

The positive new-vehicle sales wave that started late last year appears to be continuing into February, according to Edmunds.com’s latest forecast.

In part due to momentum gained during Presidents Day, site analysts think February new-vehicle sales, including fleets, should come in at 937,000 units. The figure would represent a 20.1-percent increase from February of last year and a 14.4-percent increase from January.

In terms of retail sales, Edmunds.com projects that franchise dealers are expected to move approximately 743,000 units this month, up from approximately 662,000 vehicles last month. The February projection calculates into a 12-percent bump that analysts believe is in line with an expected seasonal increase.

Moving along, Edmunds.com analysts predict that February’s Seasonally Adjusted Annualized Rate will be 12.64 million, up from 12.54 in January. They noted SAAR for retail sales remained flat from last month at about 10.1 million.

The site determined average automaker incentives in the U.S. are estimated to be $2,530 per vehicle sold this month. That amount is down $31 or 1.2 percent from January and down $127 or 4.8 percent from February of last year.

“February started slow, but it gained plenty of momentum over Presidents Day weekend,” stated Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell.

”It was also the fifth consecutive month with a SAAR over 12 million, which is a good sign as the industry presses forward into March,” Caldwell continued.

Edmunds.com pointed out this month had 24 selling days, the same as February of last year.

Although the six largest automakers are predicted to sell more units this month than both January and the same period a year ago, Caldwell mentioned trends stemming from a pair of OEMs in particular.

“General Motors continues to have the highest market share, but it also leads the other Big 6 automakers in incentive spending by a healthy margin,” she insisted.

“Toyota’s market share, on the other hand, has fallen to its lowest level since its issues with unintended acceleration reached its peak this time last year. It can’t start rolling out their new products fast enough,” Caldwell went on to say.

Edmunds.com February 2011 New-Car Sales Market Forecast: