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Friday, May 22, 2009
J.D. Power Lowers 2009 U.S. Auto Sales Forecast to 10 Million but Increases Global Sales Estimate
Posted by wedos at 9:32 AM
"While there are some signs of stability in the automotive market, current sales rates indicate that achieving recovery will not be a quick proposition," said Gary Dilts, senior vice president of J.D. Power's automotive operations.
The forecaster said that while the rate of decline in new-vehicle retail sales in the U.S. slowed down in May compared to the previous 12 months, consumer uncertainty has led to a flattening of sales with the company now projecting a delay in market recovery of two to three months beyond the spring selling season.
"We remain optimistic that the fundamentals will continue to improve and that we will see an uptick during the summer sales season, which will help the industry stabilize further and help build consumer confidence," said Dilts.
But while it may take a while for the United States to recover, J.D. Power has revised upwards its volume forecasts for global auto sales. "As major international automotive markets continue their recovery, we have increased our outlook for 2009 global light-vehicle sales to 58.6 million units, from 57.5 million units forecasted in March," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at J.D. Power.
Source: J.D. Power
