03/19/10

Edmunds.com just reported its mid-month look at March U.S. auto sales, and a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) that is close to 13.5 million vehicles. Edmunds credits intense competition from manufacturer incentives.

"The industry has been recharged by incentives offers from Toyota and other automakers who responded in kind," said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell, in the Auto Observer announcement. "There is a lot of money in the marketplace right now, and people are responding."

Toyota first announced its incentives, including zero-percent financing for up to 72 months, the first of March, which kick-started the increased sales. Now, the current SAAR is at 13.2 million vehicles.

"Toyota incentives announcement immediately generated nearly a 40-percent spike in the brand's purchase intent by visitors to Edmunds.com," reported Edmunds.com senior analyst Ray Zhou. Purchase intent measures actual buyer interest as reflected in the way they shop on Edmunds.com.

Daily sales at Toyota are up YOY by 50 percent, and up 80 percent from February. Chevy's retail share of 12.2 percent is up from last month, while Ford's remains the same at 12.3-12.5. While Honda has experienced a 20 percent increase in sales from last month, it has offered comparatively fewer incentives, dropping its YOY share from last year's 11.2 to the current 9.2. In February Honda's share stood at 10.4 percent.