Cars and Drivers

Toyota and Honda Gain Market Share

2015_Toyota_Camry_XSE
Source: Toyota Motor Corp.
Rising gasoline prices made a difference in car buyers’ decisions in February. Sales of compact cars and small sport utility vehicles (SUVs) rose in the month, with Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) and Nissan forecast to see the largest year-over-year sales gains in the month.

Kelley Blue Book (KBB) and Edmunds have forecast double-digit unit sales gains for both Toyota and Honda. Toyota sales are expect to rise 13.0% by the KBB analysts and 16.0% by the Edmunds forecasters. KBB also has Honda sales up 12.5%, while Edmunds has the automaker’s sales up 11.3% year-over-year.

Toyota is forecast to sell 180,000 units (KBB) and up to 185,000 (Edmunds). Honda unit sales are pegged at 113,000 at KBB and about 112,000 at Edmunds.

KBB analyst Tim Fleming said:

With gas prices rising 30 cents in February, Kelley Blue Book anticipates more consumers to shift toward brands like Toyota and their lineup of fuel-efficient cars and small utilities like its RAV4. Similar to Toyota, American Honda will have a great month with projected double-digit growth for February. Large gains should be seen in the small CR-V utility vehicle, which has been Honda’s best-seller during the past four months.

KBB expects the compact crossover SUV category to post a 10.6% gain year-over-year in February.

After rising nearly 16% year-over-year in January, Nissan sales are expected to jump 7.2% (Edmunds) or 4.0% (KBB) in February. Nissan unit sales are expected to outpace Honda, with forecast sales above 120,000 units. Month over month, Nissan is expected to post a sales gain of 18.8% (Edmunds), the largest monthly gain of any automaker.

In what may seem like an anomaly given what analysts had to say about small cars and gasoline prices, sales of full-size pickup trucks are expected to remain strong in February, led by the all-new F-Series from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and the Ram division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) are also forecast to do well in February. Sales of full-size pickups is expected to rise 11% (KBB) year-over-year in February.

Other vehicles expected to do well are the new Jeep Cherokee and Subaru, both in the mid-size crossover SUV category, where sales are forecast to improve 10.7% year-over-year in February.

ALSO READ: How Gas Prices Affect Car Buyers

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