Saving money throughout the holiday on sales why not further that by saving on a new car.
Thanks in part to Black Friday deals and other specials that began well before Thanksgiving and continue to run past New Year’s Day, U.S. auto sales are set to break the all-time record in 2015, at about 17.5 million cars and trucks, forecasters said.
Automakers in the U.S. market won’t report December and full-year 2014 sales for another week, on Tuesday, Jan. 5. But several forecasters take a stab at sales results for the whole month, based on online shopping during the month, plus historical data.
Kelley Blue Book, for instance, said it expects December auto sales of around 1.7 million units, an increase of about 13 percent versus December 2014. That would put the 2015 total for the year at 17.5 million, the company said. A year ago, Kelly Blue Book, based in Irvine, Calif., predicted U.S. auto sales of 16.9 million in 2015.
TrueCar Inc., Santa Monica, Calif., had a similar forecast of about 1.7 million for December 2015 and about 17.5 million for the full year of 2015. A year ago, TrueCar said it expected sales of 17 million for 2015.
Due to the auto industry’s customary calendar magic — Sundays and federal holidays, like Jan. 1 don’t count as quote-unquote “sales days” — sales through Monday, Jan. 4, count as “December” sales.