Edmunds.com cautioned that the seasonally adjusted annual rate for U.S. auto sales could be 10.5 million in January, as discounts between Christmas and New Year's affect sales in the first month of the year.
The car-shopping Web site said while discounts might not have been that good, people still tend to flock to dealerships during this period. Edmunds noted deal-sensitive shoppers then typically wait for Presidents Day weekend in February for the next round of deals that they've been programmed to expect.
If that sales rate holds, it would compare with the 11.5 million vehicles Edmunds expects to be sold in the U.S. for all of 2010, roughly 10% higher than last year. Sales in 2009 were the worst in more than a quarter-century in the U.S., helping result in China surpassing America as the nation with the most auto sales.
Edmunds has said that analysts should be wary of data measured with a seasonally adjusted annual rate, or SAAR, because it is less reliable during recessions. Earlier this month, Edmunds Chief Executive Jeremy Anwyl said a SAAR pullback may discourage some about the pace of economic recovery--worries he called unnecessary.
(Source: irco.biz)
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