Auto sales expected to be down by at least 2 percent

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Analysts expect to see August auto sales drop by at least 2 percent year-over-year.

But this August was up against a record-breaking August 2015.

“It was the top-selling August since 2005,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of industry insights for TrueCar. “It was a pretty high watermark to compare against.”

Automakers will release their August sales Thursday.

TrueCar analysts expect sales to come in at 1,544,900.

Kelley Blue Book analysts expect sales of 1.54 million.

KBB expects to see a 4.2 percent increase in compact sport utility vehicle sales, a 1.9 percent increase in sales of full-size pickup trucks, a 17 percent decrease in midsize cars and a 5.5 percent decrease in compact-car sales.

“The mix of sales is divided, with demand for utility vehicles continuing to grow at the same time that car sales are falling,” said Tim Fleming, analyst for KBB, in a statement.

General Motors and Ford both are expected to see sales declines, while Honda is expected to see slight growth.

“General Motors has lost nearly a full point of market share this year, although this is fully attributable to reduced rental sales, which are less profitable,” said Fleming. “In fact, GM has gone from the top automaker of rental vehicles to No. 4 this year, which is part of their push to focus on strengthening residual values and profitability rather than boosting sales totals.”

TrueCar still expects 2016 to be a record-breaking year – the seventh in a row.

Last year, automakers sold 17.5 million vehicles. This year, they are expected to sell about 17.6 million.

Having a seventh year of growth in the industry hasn’t happened since the 1920s, Lyman said.