A senior analyst at KBB said, “[T]he industry should start to bounce back in March. The momentum built in March should set the market up for a big month in April.” New vehicle sales in March, including fleet sales, are expected to rise to 1.475 million units, up 23.8% from February. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales is expected to rise from 15.3 million units in February of 2014 and March of 2013 to 15.7 million units. Retail sales are forecast to account for 82% of all sales.
KBB expects Chrysler Group LLC to post the biggest year-over-year gain in March, 7.2%. Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) is expected to get an increase of 2.3%, while Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is expected to get a 1% boost, and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) should see a gain of just 0.4%. Sales for Honda Motor Corp. (NYSE: HMC) are slated to be flat with March of 2013.
Sales at Nissan are forecast to rise 1.7% on the strength of the carmaker’s popular compact crossover Rogue model. Subaru and Toyota also have strong sellers in the compact crossover segment with their Forester and RAV4 models.
KBB’s analyst notes:
Consumers are opting for compact crossovers at the expense of segments like mid-size cars, which transact just $1,500 lower. Kelley Blue Book expects mid-size cars to remain mostly flat in March due to big sales of the Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Honda Accord, but demand in this segment in 2014 has been weaker than the previous two years.
Carmakers are expected to report sales next Tuesday.
The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)
The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.